BOLIVAR, Mo. – The women's basketball team dropped their second straight contest, this time against Southwest Baptist University on Saturday, January 18th in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action at the John Q. Hammons Court in Bolivar, Missouri. 

Score: McKendree University 65, Southwest Baptist University 75 

Record: McK Bearcats 10-5, 6-3 GLVC | SBU Bearcats 7-8, 5-4 GLVC 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams started out slow scoring-wise, as SBU got inside for a couple of made layups, but McKendree answered with four points of their own to tie it up at four a piece. The two teams traded baskets on either side for the final five minutes of the initial period, with a plethora of them coming from the free throw line with 12 combined attempts. SBU would hold at a two-point lead, 15-13 at the end of the first quarter. 

SBU continued to push the pressure to start the second quarter to still hold a close lead with a few more free throws, yet a couple of back-to-back triples by McKendree from the Jerseyville, Illinois guards Clare Breden and freshman Tessa Crawford gave them their first lead of the period, up three. SBU reclaimed the lead once again with a five-point spurt, but the Bearcats from McKendree would pull out an 11-3 run with freshman forward Kyra Taylor (Davenport, Iowa) contributing on a couple of layups to put her squad up by six with a little under two minutes remaining in the quarter. The home Bearcats responded with a few inside shots in the final moments to cut their deficit to two and trail McKendree 32-34. 

Both teams dropped seven points each to open up the third period of play, keeping the game tightly contested, yet an 8-0 run initiated by senior forward Bianca Oliver put SBU up by six with under five minutes left in the third quarter as both teams from-then-on continued to battle with SBU having a 51-46 edge at the end of the period. 

McKendree utilized a collective effort in the first several minutes of the final period of regulation and was able to cut their deficit to five with a minute and 32 seconds remaining. However, SBU converted on five of their last eight free throws to pull away with the win, 75-65. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Breden led all scorers with 18 on the evening, and collected three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. 

• Taylor followed closely behind for McKendree, as she had 16 points on 6-7 shooting and 4-5 from the line while grabbing six rebounds, dishing five assists, and swiping two steals. 

• Parks rounded out the double-digit scoring for McKendree with 11 points but did corral an abundant 15 rebounds (nine offensive), while also getting five assists and a block. 

• Bianca and graduate guard Amber Storr led the way for SBU, as the former finished with 15 points and eight rebounds while the latter had 14 points and three rebounds. 

• McKendree shot 39.7% from the field, 23.8% from distance, and 73.7% from the stripe while the SBU Bearcats ended with 48.3%, 38.5%, and 75% respectively. 

• Despite the loss, McKendree was +1 in fast break points. 

• SBU was +15 in points off of turnovers, +14 in bench points, +4 in points in the paint, and +8 in second-chance points. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will be back in action on Thursday, January 23rd, when they return home to take on Lincoln University (Mo.) 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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