LEBANON, Ill. - The women's basketball team will get their feet running back into Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action after the holiday break as they face the University of Indianapolis on Friday, January 3rd, and Lewis University on Sunday, January 5th with both matchups being on the road.
Against UIndy, this will be the 18th all-time meeting between the two programs as McKendree won the last two and four out of the last five meetings against the Greyhounds. UIndy does hold a 10-7 advantage in the all-time series, where they beat the Bearcats in six of the first seven matchups in the history. The most recent meeting (84-58) was the largest margin of victory in the series as the game before (95-92 (OT)) was the smallest margin.
A couple of days later, against Lewis, it will be the 21st meeting between the two Illinois programs. The Flyers won six out of the seven recent matchups with McKendree snagging a 71-69 overtime win in Romeoville in January of the 2023-24 season. The Bearcats pulled off the win in the first-ever meeting of the series in 2011, but Lewis went on an 11-game winning streak from then on that stopped in 2020.
BEARCATS CURRENTLY
McKendree is coming off two straight losses after making a historic 7-0 start to the season with both games coming in non-conference play. Sitting at 7-2 overall, McKendree did start GLVC action undefeated at 3-0 before dipping into the non-conference slate before the holiday break.
In the game against Missouri Western State University at home, the Bearcats exchanged runs throughout the whole contest as they had a comfortable seven-point leading heading into the half. However, the Griffons and one of their key senior players would go on a hot tear to start the third quarter that put them up by nine heading into the final period of regulation. A personal 10-3 run put together by sophomore forward Baylie Parks (Lake Zurich, Ill.) was not enough as Missouri Western would break the seven-game win streak with a 77-69 win on the Bearcats home floor.
A six-hour trip to west-central Michigan to face Davenport University did not go as planned for the visiting McKendree. It was a mentor-prodigy moment to begin the first quarter with senior guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill.) and freshman forward Kyra Taylor (Davenport, Iowa) to keep the game close as the Bearcats would be down by only one at the end of the first quarter. Yet, the Panthers would make some significant ground on their offensive end from then on which McKendree was never able to re-gain the lead and fell on the road, 61-79.
Park's shooting numbers dipped in the recent outings but is still first in the GLVC in field goal percentage at 57.7%. She is also in the top five in the conference in rebounding numbers, including total rebounds per game (2nd – 9.7), offensive rebounds per game (3rd – 3.2), defensive rebounds per game (4th – 6.4), and total rebounds (4th – 87). Breden has been sharing the rock with ease this season, dishing out 4.0 assists per game, which is good for 59th in the nation, and also has a 1.57 assist-to-turnover ratio.
What has been consistent this season is the team effort as the Bearcats lead the conference in a few collective statistical categories. Those consist of being first in field goal percentage (46.5%), free throw percentage (76.1%), and free throws made per game (17.0). The field goal percentage ranks ninth in the entire country.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
University of Indianapolis | Friday, January 3rd, 4:00 PM CT
Last Matchup: W, 84-58 on 3/2/2024 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
UIndy has a more of a less ideal start to the season as opposed to McKendree. They are sitting at 2-9 with both of their wins –– against Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and Purdue University Northwest –– coming at a combined nine points. The Greyhounds are still searching for their first conference win of the season and first since February 22nd of 2024. They are sitting on a six-game losing streak.
The Greyhounds have only one double-figure scorer on their roster, junior guard Patricia Chikamba, who drops in an abundant 17.4 points per game. The Carmel, Indiana native also leads the team in rebounding with 8.3 per contest and shoots 43.5% from the field. Junior forward Kylah Lawson is one of the better interior defenders in the GLVC, swatting the ball away 1.2 times a game.
Alluding to the defensive side of the ball, stealing and picking off the offense is UIndy's bread and butter, as they are second in the conference with 9.8 steals a contest. That is good for 90th in the nation. They turn the opposition over 17.6 times as well.
Lewis University | Sunday, January 5th, 1:00 PM CT
Last Matchup: L, 56-70 on 2/29/24 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
Two days later, after UIndy, the Bearcats will face one of the other two teams that are undefeated in GLVC action in Lewis. The Flyers are at a tremendous 9-1 overall record in about a third of the way into the season with a 3-0 mark in conference play, like McKendree. Their only loss was to Michigan Tech early in the season but reeled off eight straight victories leading into their matchup against Maryville University on Friday before taking on the Bearcats on Sunday.
Graduate guard Taylor Gugliuzza is the team's leading scorer at 13.2 points per game in 32.8 minutes of action while shooting 43.2% from the floor. Senior forward Ciera McNamee is the only other double-digit scorer with 10.1 points a contest. The Flyers consist of two of the top five on-ball defenders in the conference in senior guard Jenna Badali and sophomore guard Ally Cesarini, who steal the ball 2.6 and 2.1 times a game respectively, making another defensive test for McKendree.
If defense was not enough to portray this Lewis squad, it is nonetheless one of their greatest strengths night in and night out. They are placed in the top three in the GLVC in several categories, including scoring defense (2nd – 52.1 points allowed), turnover margin (+4.5), field goal percentage defense (3rd – 35.0%), fouls per game (3rd – 13.9), and turnovers forced per game (3rd – 17.8).
TUNE IN-FO
at University of Indianapolis
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [UIndy]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [UIndy]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [UIndy]
at Lewis University
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [Lewis]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [Lewis]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [Lewis]
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