LEBANON, Ill. - The women's basketball team keeps their season's hot start alive and well in a home victory against the University of Illinois Springfield on Saturday, December 7th in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois. 

Score: McKendree University 72, University of Illinois Springfield 62 

Record: Bearcats 7-0, 3-0 GLVC | Prairie Stars 0-8, 0-4 GLVC 

HOW IT HAPPENED

McKendree came out as the aggressor early as senior guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill.) and sophomore forward Baylie Parks (Lake Zurich, Ill.) each contributed four of the team's eight opening points. After UIS freshman forward Sydney Moss stopped the bleeding with an inside layup, junior guard Georgia Duncan (Washington, Ill.) responded with a three-point shot that ignited a 7-0 run for the Bearcats to be up 10. Prairie Star sophomore guard Kayla Rice broke down the home defense with a couple tough pull-up shots inside the arc to cut the deficit. However, McKendree would close out the final 3:30 of the first quarter on a huge 14-2 run where freshman forward Kyra Taylor (Davenport, Iowa) connected on three successful layups and would give her squad a 31-13 lead at the break. 

Down but not out, UIS opened period number two with eight straight points, capped off by a couple of easy layups from sophomore guard Emari Doby to only trail by 10. The two sides scored evenly throughout the rest of the first half as Breden and Parks were the only ones to score the Bearcats' last 12 points where the former tabbed in eight of them from either inside the paint or from the free throw line. McKendree would find themselves up 43-31 heading into halftime. 

Still down by a sizable margin, the Prairie Stars refused to give up, as they came out of the half on a 10-2 run, which included a pair of three-pointers from Rice and senior guard Saharra Murphy to be down by a slight four points. Sophomore guard Emma Slings (Polk City, Iowa) answered with a shot from beyond the arc to build up the lead again but both sides would have to fight in the interior to score in the following moments. Within a 53-second span, Parks would go on a personal 6-0 run with three successful layups in hopes of putting the game out of reach as her squad would be up against the visitors, 58-47. 

The two teams would grind it out in the final 10 minutes of regulation as Rice and freshman forward Taylor Fohey (Quincy, Ill.) each dropped seven points in the quarter for their respective squads. The Bearcats would seek out the victory on Saturday afternoon, 72-62. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• McKendree was led by none other than Parks, who finished with a career-best 26 points on a highly efficient shooting day by going 12-14 from the floor while attempting no threes. She also collected a career-high in rebounds with 12 (five offensive) and steals with three. 

• Breden, who was honored for being the program's all-time leading scorer prior to the game, had 12 points on 5-9 shooting while dishing out five assists and also three steals. 

• Along with Parks and Breden, junior guard Chloe White (Brussels, Ill.) also had a co-team-high three steals. 

• Like the Bearcats, UIS had only two double-figure scorers as Rice led the way for her squad with 22 points on 6-13 shooting, 4-10 from distance, and 6-6 from the charity stripe. Her teammate Doby had 16 points and a team-high nine boards. 

• McKendree shot 50.0% from the field, 25.0% from distance, and 58.3% from the stripe while the Prairie Stars ended with 41.4%, 33.3%, and 85.7% respectively. 

• McKendree dominated the paint by scoring 50 of their points inside the area on a +18 advantage. 

• The Bearcats had a solid 21-9 edge on bench points on the afternoon victory. 

• The 7-0 start to the season is the best for the program in the NCAA Division II era. 

• As it currently stands, McKendree is one of only 13 undefeated teams in NCAA Division II women's basketball. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will be back in action on Tuesday, December 17th, when they host the Missouri Western State University at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois with tip-off set for 5:30 PM CT. 

For more updates and information on Bearcat Athletics, please continue to visit McKBearcats.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 
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