LEBANON, Ill. - The women's basketball team's hot start to the season will halt at seven as they dropped their first game against Missouri Western State University on Tuesday, December 17th in non-conference action at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois.
Score: McKendree University 69, Missouri Western State University 77
Record: Bearcats 7-1, 3-0 GLVC | Griffons 7-3, 2-0 MIAA
HOW IT HAPPENED
Things would start out close at the beginning of the game, where neither side led by more than five points in the first quarter. McKendree sophomore guard Emma Slings (Polk City, Iowa) gave seven points in the quarter as Missouri Western had junior Marie Sepp drop in an abundant 14 points in the period, including seven straight for her team midway through the quarter. Both teams would be knotted up at 19 after the first 10 minutes.
Then the Bearcats would ignite a booting 13-2 run to start the second period of play that saw five different players scoring in the span, including a couple of tough made layups from senior guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill.) and would lead by 11 with a little over two and a half minutes remaining. The Griffons would close the gap on a mini 6-2 run behind a couple of inside shots from senior Alyssa Bonilla to only find themselves down 27-34 heading into halftime.
The tides would turn in the third quarter with Western Missouri finding their shot. Senior Matilda Soderlund gave the Griffons an all-time of a clinic, as she herself would connect of six of the squad's nine made shots from distance on 12 attempts. Her 18 points edged McKendree's total scoring in the period with a well-balanced 15 as the visiting Western Missouri would lead 58-49 heading into the final stages of the game.
After a quick breather from intermission, the Bearcats would utilize the first few minutes to attack the rim in every possession they had while holding serve on the defensive end. That tenacity on the interior gave the home squad a 10-3 run, which all came from the charity stripe as sophomore forward Baylie Parks (Lake Zurich, Ill.) connected on the first six of them. Within the next three minutes of play, the Griffons would tack on eight more points that included a three-pointer from Soderlund and a pair of layups from Bonilla and Sepp while freshman forward Kyra Taylor (Davenport, Iowa) tried to keep McKendree within close difference as they were down by only five. After two minutes of no scoring on either end, Bonilla would come clutch for her team with a floater jump shot with just a hair over a minute remaining. From then on, the Griffons would convert on their free throws to seal the deal, defeating the Bearcats 77-69.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
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Missouri Western had two 20-point scorers in Soderlund and Sepp, as Soderlund had 24 points with all of them coming from beyond the arc, going 8-16. Sepp had 21 in 39 minutes of play as she also corralled seven rebounds and collected five assists.
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McKendree shot 39.3% from the field, 22.2% from distance, and 80.8% from the stripe while the Griffons ended with 35.1%, 35.9%, and 84.6% respectively.
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McKendree's 50 total rebounds (11 offensive, 39 defensive) is a season-high, and the most since the 2023-24 season when they pulled down an abundant of 61 against the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez.
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back in action on Saturday, December 21st, when they travel to Davenport University to take on the Panthers at the Davenport Student Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan with tip-off set for 12:00 PM CT.
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