BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The women's water polo team capped their time off at the Hoosier Classic with their first two wins ever in the event as they fell to No.11 Indiana University and beaten Carthage College on day two in non-conference action on Sunday, January 26th, in Bloomington, Indiana. 

MATCH ONE vs. Indiana

BOX SCORE 

Score: McKendree University 3, Indiana University 13 

Record: Bearcats 1-2, 0-0 WWPA | Hoosiers 3-0, 0-0 MPSF 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

The No.11 Indiana would set the tone early in the match as they began with a 7-0 start behind senior attacker Skylar Kidd scoring three straight goals within the team's first four. 

It was not until a minute and 51 seconds into the second quarter of play that McKendree would finally get themselves up on the board as junior attacker Joey Rebelo (Québec, Montreal) put one into the net to halt the Hoosier run momentarily. Yet, Indiana would get back into their groove as they scored another three straight possessions with junior utility Nicole Tyner earning a hat-trick within that span. 

Rebelo would stop the bleeding once again with her second goal of the contest with two minutes left of the third period of play. The Hoosiers would sneak one in at the end of the third quarter and opened up the fourth quarter with a goal to bring their lead up to 10. 

Sophomore center Bella Morquecho (Chicago, Ill.) would give the Bearcats one more goal for the game but ultimately could not match against Indiana, losing 3-13. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Rebelo led the way for McKendree, scoring two goals on four shot attempts while also coming away with a steal. 

• Morquecho finished with a goal and followed up her eight-drawn exclusion game against UC Santa Barbara with seven in today's match. 

• Sophomore utility Hailey Munoz (Murrieta, Calif.) helped out with an assist and a pair of steals. 

• Senior goalkeeper Sydney Kane (Kankakee, Ill.) played all 32 minutes of action against Indiana, where she tallied four saves and two steals. 

MATCH TWO vs. Carthage

BOX SCORE 

Score: McKendree University 15, Carthage College 7 

Record: Bearcats 2-2, 0-0 WWPA | Firebirds 0-4, 0-0 CWPA 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Morquecho would continue where she left off in the previous game against Indiana as she drew first blood for McKendree with a goal 53 seconds into play. A few minutes later, Carthage junior attacker Yamila Areizaga would tie the game up at one a-piece with a scoring possession of her own. From there, the Bearcats would connect on three straight shots into the opposing net to end the first quarter up 4-1. 

A slow-paced action log would find itself in the first several moments of the second period until Firebird freshman attacker Morrigan Bushroe slinged one in for her squad to cut the deficit to two. The Bearcats would then ignite a small 4-0 spurt, with Morquecho earning her third goal of the match for a hat-trick, plus junior center defender Allie Diller (Grand Ledge, Mich.) getting in her second goal as McKendree would increase their lead to 8-2 heading into halftime. 

Again, it was Carthage in on the first goals of the quarter with back-to-back possessions from Bushroe and senior attacker Sarah Lowery to find themselves down by only four. However, McKendree would go on a bigger run, this time going 5-0 where it would bleed into the opening minutes of the final quarter of regulation. 

With 3:29 left in the game, the Firebirds connected on three more straight goals in final hopes to overcome their deficit. Bearcat sophomore attacker Mikayla Brown would seal the deal by sneaking one in with 21 seconds remaining to give her team their second win of the season, 15-7. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Morquecho led McKendree with three goals on five shot-attempts while also tabbing two drawn-exclusions and a steal. 

• Diller and Munoz each finished with two goals each as the latter recorded a drawn exclusion and a steal. 

• Along with her lone goal, Rebelo had a team-high three steals plus three assists and a pair of drawn exclusions. 

• 11 Bearcats scored at least one goal, as seven had at least one steal. 

• Kane played 27:32 of the win against Carthage, tabbing 10 saves. Freshman goalkeeper Elizabeth Zurawski (San Antonio, Texas) had one save in 4:28 of action. 

• The thirteen steals and 28 shot-attempts are a team-high this season. 

• The women's water polo program was 0-13 all-time in the Hoosier Classic heading into this weekend. They came out this year with a 2-2 record. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will be back in action next weekend when they hit the road to the VMI Invite, which will be hosted by the Virginia Military Institute. They will face the University of Toronto at 9:40 AM CT and VMI at 3:40 PM CT on Saturday, February 1st. Then, they will take on Austin College at 7:00 AM CT and Bucknell University at 12:20 PM CT in day two on Sunday, February 2nd. All games will be played at the VMI Aquatic Center in Lexington, Virginia. 

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