LEBANON, Ill. - McKendree University women's basketball dropped a close eight-point contest to the Miners of Missouri S&T on Thursday evening. The Bearcats move to 10-14 overall and 7-10 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with just three games left of the regular season. The GLVC tournament is set to be held at Hyland Arena on the campus of Lindenwood University on March 2-5.

The Bearcats and Miners proved to be evenly-matched teams as the largest lead held by either team was Missouri S&T's eight-point late in the first quarter. McKendree had its best offensive quarter in the second, shooting 56 percent from the field and putting up 19 points. At the half, the Miners held the advantage by just four points, 34-30.

McKendree inched closer in the third quarter, outscoring Missouri S&T 12-11, but still trailing by three with a score of 45-42. With 2:08 left in the contest, the GLVC foes were still at a three-point difference, though the Miners would hit some key buckets while the Bearcats struggled to match Missouri S&T's scoring. Ultimately, the Miners would come away with an eight-point win, 65-57.

As a team, McKendree shot 35 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line, but sank just one of 12 shots from beyond the arc. The Miners recorded 46-percent shooting from the field, 68 percent from the free throw line and also struggled to hit the long shots at 2-for-9 from the three-point line. The Bearcats won the battle of turnovers with six to the Miners' 15 but Missouri S&T would collect 44 boards to McKendree's 31.

Offensively, the Bearcats were led by junior guard Erin Golden who tallied a career-high 22 points, shooting 9-of-16 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Golden bested her previous career high by three points which was also against Missouri S&T earlier this season. The 5-foot-8 guard added a career-high three blocks and three rebounds on the night.

Junior forward Naomi McDaniel snagged her third double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Additionally, junior guard Maclayne Taylor dished out a game-high five assists. while sophomore guard Clare Breden and junior guard Madyson Harper each grabbed a game-high three steals.

The Miners improve to 14-11 on the year and 10-7 in the GLVC with the win. Missouri S&T was led by graduate student guard Laura Rodriguez who matched Golden's 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

On Saturday, McKendree will close out its home schedule against No.2 Drury at 1 p.m.