LEBANON, Ill. - McKendree University women's basketball continues its 2022-23 conference campaign this week hosting Lewis University on Thursday evening at 5:30 p.m. at Harry M. Statham  before heading to University of Indianapolis on Saturday for a 12 p.m. game. The Bearcats sport a 7-8 overall record and a 4-4 mark in the Great Lakes Valley Conference following an 81-67 home win over Maryville last Saturday afternoon. 

Heading into this week's games, McKendree is sixth in the GLVC while Lewis sits tied at third with Missouri S&T, featuring a 6-3 GLVC record, and Indianapolis is 5-4, tying at fifth with Maryville. 

ABOUT THE BEARCATS
As a team, the Bearcats average 64.7 points per game, scoring their second-highest number of points for the single game in the season against Maryville with 81 points in the win. Offensively, the Bearcats are shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 29 percent from three, and 74 percent from the free throw line. At 74 percent, the Bearcats rank third in free throw percentage while sitting at fourth in field goal percentage. 

Defensively, McKendree ranks fifth in points allowed at 64.7 points per game while also holding opponents to netting only 28.8 percent of shot beyond the arc. With the 28.8 percent three-point defense, McKendree ranks second in the GLVC at just .6 percent behind Drury. Additionally, the Bearcats are fifth with 2.5 blocked shots per game and fourth in collecting defensive rebounds, snagging 25.4 per game. 

Through McKendree's 15 games, junior forward Naomi McDaniel has topped the team's individual averages, sitting now at 12.7 points per game. McDaniel added two more double-digit scoring games to her season last week against UMSL and Maryville, putting up nearly identical statistics including 11 points, eight rebounds, and one block. McDaniel is second in shooting percentage from the field for the Bearcats as well as fifth in the conference with her 53.8 field goal percentage. On the defensive end, McDaniel is second in the GLVC with 1.40 blocks per game and fourth in defensive rebounds, averaging 5.3 per game. 

Leading McKendree from the field is junior guard Erin Golden, shooting 56.3 percent. Golden also ranks in the top five for free throw percentage in the GLVC, netting a team-high 88 percent of shots from the foul stripe following a perfect 5-for-5 performance against Maryville. 

Additionally, sophomore guard Clare Breden averages double figures, netting 10.1 points per game for the Bearcats. Breden tops the steals and assists columns for McKendree, tallying 1.5 steals and 2.1 assists per game, while also shooting a team-high 34 percent from the three-point line. 

Two more Bearcats average seven or more points per game as junior forward Christy Fortune tallies 7.8 per game while junior guard Maclayne Taylor scores 7.3 per game. Against Maryville, Taylor sank a season-high 19 points to help lead the Bearcats to victory. Taylor also ranks fifth in the GLVC for offensive rebounds at 2.7 per game. 

ABOUT THE FLYERS
Lewis currently holds a 10-7 overall record for the season following a 16-15 season in 2021-22 and concluding with an appearance in the GLVC tournament championship. In most recent action, the Flyers fell in double overtime to UMSL, 84-81. 

The Flyers average a GLVC third-highest 71.4 points per game as well as rank No. 3 in field goal percentage at 44.2 and three-point percentage at 33.9 percent. Lewis also sits second in assists, dishing out 14.9 per game in addition to holding the top spot in assist to turnover ratio with 1.25. 

Defensively, Lewis holds opponents to an average of 67.9 points per game in addition to a 39.7 shooting percentage from the field. 

Topping the scoring averages for Lewis is junior forward Kathryn Schmidt, netting 15.6 points per game, the sixth-highest in the GLVC, while snagging a team-high 7.7 rebounds per game, ranking fourth in the conference. 

Hitting an average of 2.0 threes per game is senior guard Grace Hilber, who sinks the second-highest average for Lewis at 14.3 points. 

In the last match-up between the Flyers and the Bearcats, Lewis came away with a 85-74 win on Feb. 21, 2022. 

ABOUT THE GREYHOUNDS 
The Greyhounds come into this week's game with a 9-8 overall record following a 10-17 season in 2021-22. Indianapolis is on a two-game win streak after posting a 58-53 win over UMSL and a 75-70 victory over Maryville. 

At an average of 70.7 points per game, the Greyhounds rank fourth in the GLVC while sitting first in free throw percentage (77.2 percent) and third in third-point percentage (32.8 percent). From the field, Indianapolis has tallied a 39.6 shooting percentage. 

Defensively, Indianapolis is tied for first with Rockhurst in blocked shots per game at 2.88 while allowing 72.3 points per game to opponents. 

Senior guard Sadie Hill leads the Greyhounds with a 14.6-point average in addition to ranking sixth in rebounding in the GLVC at 7.3 per game. Defensively, the 6-foot guard sits at fifth in the conference with 0.87 blocked shots per game. 

Sophomore guard Elana Wells also averages double digits at 10.0 points for the Greybounds. Fellow sophomore guard Liv Becker holds a top-three spot for three-point percentage in the GLVC, netting 45.5 percent of shots beyond the arc. 

Previously, McKendree and Indianapolis met on Jan. 13, 2022, resulting in a 63-58 win for the Bearcats. 

Up Next
Following this Saturday's game at Indianapolis, McKendree will return to their home court and host Quincy on Jan. 26 at 5:30 p.m.