SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - McKendree University women's basketball fell to No.23 Drury University on Saturday afternoon in a close battle which never saw a point differential more than 12. The Bearcats are 18-7 overall and 14-5 against Great Lakes Valley Conference opponents heading into its final few regular season games.  

Between the two quite evenly matched teams, there were 22 lead changes during the 40 minutes of play. The first quarter ended with a three-pointer from senior guard Madyson Harper in the final seconds to cut the Drury advantage to 26-22. The Bearcats kept the offensive momentum going and ended the half with another three-point buzzer beater, this time from junior guard Clare Breden to take the lead 45-43. In the second half, the Panthers kept a steady pace with their offense, scoring 22 points in each of the second-half quarters. McKendree's shooting fell cold in the fourth quarter after sinking seven threes in the first half and shooting 53 percent from the field. The Bearcats fell 87-75 to the Panthers.  

McKendree was led in scoring by senior guard Christy Fortune who shot 6-for-8 from beyond the arc. With her six three-pointers, Fortune totals 178 threes and moves up to third in career threes for McKendree women's basketball, passing former teammate and current McKendree graduate assistant athletic trainer Sydney Diekhoff who made 174 in her career.  

Fortune was joined in double-digit scoring by Breden with 16, senior forward Naomi McDaniel with 11, and Harper and senior guard Erin Golden with 10 each. Senior forward Kristyn Mitchell contributed three buckets for six points and sophomore Chloe White sank a turn-around jumper to add two points. Golden topped the boards for the Bearcats, snagging seven rebounds while Breden dished a career-high seven assists.  

As a team, McKendree shot 41.9 percent from the field and posted impressive percentages from both the three-point line (52.6 percent) and the free throw line (92.9 percent). The Bearcats have shot over 52 percent from beyond the arc for their last three games. Breden, Golden, and Harper all shot 100 percent at the charity stripe.  

Up next, the Bearcats are back at home for just one game next week on Saturday, Feb. 24 against Missouri-St. Louis.