LEBANON, Ill. - The women's basketball team will go up against the Prairie Stars of the University of Illinois Springfield, on Saturday, December 7th at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois.
This will be the 31st all-time meeting between the two programs as McKendree lost last year at home, 72-77, after pulling off two straight wins subsequently after Illinois-Springfield took the previous two. The Bearcats currently lead the series 19-11 in large part due to seven straight victories as an NAIA member from 2005 to early 2009.
BEARCATS CURRENTLY
McKendree is coming off a couple of tight wins to start conference play 2-0, making it the second straight year in doing so. Their current 6-0 start to the season marks an NCAA Division II era best for the program. Three of their wins have come by 10 points or less, while the other trio of victories have been no closer than 27 points.
In the first of the recent two outings for the Bearcats, they beat Maryville University in their GLVC opener at home, 79-69. A 7-2 run to start the fourth quarter gave McKendree the ultimate edge as sophomore forward Baylie Parks (Lake Zurich, Ill.) led her team in scoring with 18 points on 50% shooting from the field and three while corralling 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season and her career. Senior Guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill.) and sophomore guard Emma Slings (Polk City, Iowa) each tabbed 15 much-needed points for the squad as Breden dished out five assists and grabbed six boards while Slings went a perfect 3-3 from beyond the arc while getting a game-high three steals.
A couple of days later in an early-week matchup at Rockhurst University, McKendree would utilize a 17-0 run to begin the second half of play and holding the Hawks scoreless until there was 2:58 left of the third quarter. The Bearcats would win 66-61 after a plethora of successful free throws in the final minutes. Parks led the team again in scoring with 12 along with junior guard Chloe White (Brussels, Ill.) as both went 5-8 from the floor. Slings again was shooting with efficiency, knocking down all four of her shots and stealing the ball three times again.
In each of the last three games for the Bearcats, Breden broke a program career record, with most field goals made in the matchup against Blackburn College on November 23rd, most free throws made against Maryville, and total points against Rockhurst. The Jerseyville, Illinois native now sits first on the program's NCAA Division II era records with 1272 points, 429 field goals made, and 319 free throws made.
Personnel-wise, Parks is 9th in the nation in field goal percentage, converting 63.5% of her shot attempts while pulling down a team-high 8.5 boards a contest. Breden is a natural at the charity stripe thus far into the season, being placed 12th in Division II in free throw attempts and 11th in free throws made (52 and 41 respectively). The team wants Slings to touch the ball in as many possessions as possible, as she is 13th in the country in assist/turnover ratio with a value of 3.00.
The recent close games have pulled the Bearcats away a bit from the hierarchy of national rankings. However, the team is still fifth in the country in assist/turnover ratio with 1.39 and three-point percentage defense, allowing 19.6%. They are still in the top 10 in a few more categories such as field goal percentage (7th – 48.3%), scoring margin (7th – 29.0), turnovers per game (8th – 12.0), and scoring offense (9th – 85.0 ppg).
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
University of Illinois Springfield| Saturday, December 7th, 1:00 PM CT
Last Matchup: L, 72-77 on 2/10/2024 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
Illinois-Springfield has had a less than ideal start to their season where they currently stand 0-6 of this writing as they still have yet to play Maryville University on Thursday evening. They lost their last two games by 10 points or less, which included a six-point setback to William Jewell College on Monday, where the Cardinals came away in the third quarter to seal it. Last year, the program went 15-14 and a solid 13-9 in conference play.
Sophomore guard Kayla Rice is a name to watch for the Prairie Stars, as the Rock Island native has been a three-and-d type of presence on the floor for her squad. She just recently broke into the program Division II era top 10 for career steals with 82 so far, one more would put her in 8th in the all-time at UIS. She is 7th in the nation in three-point attempts, putting up roughly 10.8 a game and 19.2 shots from the floor all together.
UIS's strength is being able to not foul as much throughout the game. They are 40th in Division II in fouls committed per contest, with an average of 15.0. That is good for third in the GLVC.
TUNE IN-FO
vs University of Illinois Springfield
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [Illinois-Springfield]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [Illinois-Springfield]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [Illinois-Springfield]
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