LEBANON, Ill. - McKendree University women's basketball scored its first Great Lakes Valley Conference win of the season and its first program win over Truman State University on Saturday afternoon. The Bearcats are 3-2 on the season and 1-0 on conference play as they prepare for a road game against Maryville on Monday.
The start of the contest saw three lead changes and one tie at eight-all before the Bearcats began to pull away to a 20-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Bulldogs outscored McKendree 16-12 in the second quarter to close the gap to just a three-point difference at the half, 32-29.
In the third quarter, McKendree poured on the offense and ramped up the defense, putting up 27 points and forcing Truman State to commit eight turnovers. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Bearcats still held the advantage, 58-49.
The Bulldogs made it an exciting fourth quarter as they chipped away at the Bearcats' lead to come within three points with four-and-a-half minutes to play. Truman State's graduate forward Ellie Weltha, leading scorer in the GLVC, committed an offensive foul drawn by senior Madyson Harper just 40 seconds later to disqualify her for the remainder of the game. McKendree gave a gutsy defensive performance and sank eight straight free throws to hold on to the lead and close out the victory, 76-71.
Junior guard Clare Breden led all scores at 27 points, shooting 50 percent from the field and 79 percent from the free throw line. Breden was the only player between the two teams to play the full 40 minutes.
Three more Bearcats were in double figures including senior forward Naomi McDaniel with 16 points, senior guard Christy Fortune with 12 points, and senior guard Maclayne Taylor with 10 points. McDaniel shot 58 percent from the field while Fortune and Taylor each shot a perfect 100 percent from the free throw line.
Defensively, McDaniel secured nine rebounds and three blocks, one of which came late in the fourth quarter with two minutes to go as the Bearcats held the lead by just four points. Harper topped the steals column, snagging four on the day.
As a team, McKendree won the turnover battle with just 15 turnovers to the Bulldogs' 24. The 76 points for the Bearcats notched their highest total of the season so far in addition to a season-high free throw percentage of 79 percent (23-of-29).
McKendree head coach Kari Kerkhoff said of the win, "I am proud of our ladies for getting our first win over Truman State. Our focus and energy were exactly what we needed to compete and make a statement. This is a great momentum builder for us heading into the first portion of our conference schedule."
Coming up, the Bearcats are back in action on Monday, Nov. 27 with another conference game at 5:15 p.m. against Maryville on the road.
