LEBANON, Ill. - The women's basketball team is back on their home floor this week, as they will start off by facing Lincoln University (Mo.) on Thursday, January 23rd and followed by hosting Missouri S&T on Saturday, January 25th.
Against Lincoln, this will be the ninth all-time meeting between the two programs, and the first since November of 2018. Both teams so far have snagged four wins each with the Blue Tigers coming out victorious in three of the last four outings, including the most recent with a two-point, 72-70 home win. For McKendree, they are 2-2 when playing in Jefferson City.
A couple of days later, against Missouri S&T, it will be the 17th meeting between the two. It has been the tale of two halves in the last 10 meetings as the Miners have won four of the previous five matchups while the Bearcats won all five of the games prior. The series that dates back to 2012 has Missouri S&T with the 9-7 overall advantage and has not won by less than 15 points in three of their last four wins.
BEARCATS CURRENTLY
After starting the year 10-3 and winning three of their last four games, McKendree suffered their first back-to-back losses in conference play since late January (25th & 27th) of last season. They lost by 11 at Drury University, whom they have yet to beat in their history, and fell by 10 to Southwest Baptist University a couple of days later. They now sit at 10-5 overall and are posting a 6-3 record in the GLVC.
In the first game against Drury University, both teams started out by trading buckets, but the Panthers went on a 9-0 run in the final moments of the first quarter to lead 22-14. Drury kept the foot on the pedal in the second period of play by shooting 66% from the field go ahead against McKendree 42-26 at the half. Sophomore forward Baylie Parks (Lake Zurich, Ill.) notched in 10 of her team's 16 points in the third quarter to still be down by a handful of 25 points. With a comeback seeming slim for the Bearcats, freshman guard Tessa Crawford (Jerseyville, Ill.) went in a dropped five straight points as junior guard Chloe White (Brussels, Ill.) went off for 11 points in the final quarter which included a trio of made three-pointers but would lose the matchup, 66-77. Parks led McKendree on the evening with 22 points on 8-14 shooting while going 6-6 from the line and grabbing nine boards (three offensive) with two assists and a steal. She has yet to score in single digits the entire season. White and freshman forward Kyra Taylor (Davenport, Iowa) each finished with 11 points, as the former also collected five rebounds and a steal while the latter shot 3-6 from beyond the arc.
In Saturday's game against Southwest Baptist University, each side started slowly by getting inside for the lay-ins as the backend of the initial quarter came with a plethora of free throws as the Bearcats would be down by two after the first period. Back-to-back triples from Crawford and senior guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill.) gave McKendree their first lead as a 11-3 run soon after gave the visiting Bearcats a 34-32 lead heading into halftime. SBU took back control in the third period of play by going on an 8-0 run of their own to put themselves up five at the end of the third quarter. A collective effort by McKendree was able keep the game close at a five-point deficit, but SBU made due on their intentional free throws to win 75-65. 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.
The Bearcats' two top-leading scorers in Parks and Breden are huge focal points to McKendree's success this season. For Parks, she averages a team-high 17.1 points a contest as she already has recorded seven double-doubles this season and has yet to score under 11 points at any point thus far. Her 54.6% field goal percentage is second in the conference and 23rd in the nation while all her rebounding is top-two in the conference, including total rebounds (1st – 154), total rebounds per game (1st – 10.3), defensive rebounds per game (2nd – 7.1), and offensive rebounds per game (2nd – 3.2).
Breden on the other hand averages 15.5 points a game while also leading the team in steals per game (1.7) and assists per game (3.6). Her 79 made free throws on 107 attempts are both first in the GLVC as she converts on 75.0% on them. The senior's averaged assists are fourth in the conference as it contributes to a 1.24 assist-to-turnover ratio. Breden's points averaged is seventh in the GLVC while her teammate Parks is fourth.
As a team, McKendree proves to be dominant in several areas of play. They are ranked in the top-three of many statistical categories including field goal percentage (1st – 46.5%), free throw percentage (1st – 76.1%), free throws made per game (1st – 15.9), free throw attempts per game (2nd – 20.9), scoring offense (2nd – 76.2 ppg), three-point percentage defense (2nd – 28.4%), assists per game (3rd – 15.0), and scoring margin (3rd – 11.1).
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Lincoln University (Mo.) | Thursday, January 23rd, 5:30 PM CT
Last Matchup: L, 70-72 on 11/21/2018 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
Lincoln has seen better days on the court, as they lost up to this point 14 straight contests after defeating Harris Stowe State University in their season opener on November 13th. The Blue Tigers sit at 1-14 on the season with an apparent 0-9 record in conference play.
The Blue Tigers are led by sophomore guard Hanne Nybo and junior forward Ayreona Carter, who both average a team-high 10.4 points a game and are both top-two on their team in rebounding with 6.7 and 4.2 averages respectively. Nybo's total rebounding average sits 13th in the GLVC as her defensive rebounds per game (5.2) are placed ninth.
The team does not jump out in many areas, but they are a squad that loves to shoot the long ball. Lincoln puts up roughly 18.9 three-pointers per game, which ranks 10th in the conference and 161st in the nation. However, they make 5.0 of them on average and convert on 26.5% of attempts.
Missouri S&T | Saturday, January 25th, 1:00 PM CT
Last Matchup: L, 69-76 on 1/27/24 | RECAP | BOX SCORE
On the flip side, Missouri S&T has had a much better season thus far. They just defeated the Cardinals of William Jewell College this Monday, 63-55 after coming out of last week with a pair of losses. They now sit at a comfortable 10-4 overall and have a 5-3 record in GLVC play. The Miners will travel to face the University of Illinois Springfield on Thursday before taking on McKendree.
The Miners obtain only one double-figure scorer in senior forward Katelynne Roberts, who averages 16.4 a night along with leading the team in rebounding (7.6), blocks (1.4), and field goal percentage (54.0%). Her blocking average along with total blocks (30) both rank first in the GLVC. Her teammate, senior guard Addyson Kent, is one of the conferences better longe-range shooters, as she makes roughly 2.2 three-pointers a game. Her 40.3% on her shot attempts from beyond the arc is second in the GLVC and 31st in the country.
Like the Bearcats, the Miners are a program of many talents. They usually take care of the ball at a high rate of only 12.7 per game (+3.2 margin), which is good for second in the conference. They are also second-best in the GLVC in scoring margin at +12.3 and also holding their opposition to 36.1% on field goal percentage.
TUNE IN-FO
vs Lincoln University (Mo.)
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [Lincoln]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [Lincoln]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [Lincoln]
vs Missouri S&T
WATCH: Click HERE ($ – GLVC Sports Network)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
HISTORY: Click HERE
TEAM ROSTERS: [McKendree] [Missouri S&T]
TEAM SCHEDULES: [McKendree] [Missouri S&T]
TEAM STATISTICS: [McKendree] [Missouri S&T]
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