ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The women's basketball team had the lead for the majority of the time, but eventually fell in the end against Maryville University on Thursday, January 30th in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action at the Moloney Arena in St. Louis, Missouri. 

Score: McKendree University 65, Maryville University 69 

Record: Bearcats 11-7, 7-5 GLVC | Saints 9-11, 6-6 GLVC 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Maryville took care of their home floor in the early stages of the game by jumping ahead 7-2 after sophomore guard Annika Pluemer drove in a pair of layups. McKendree's sophomore forward Baylie Parks (Lake Zurich, Ill.) helped her team respond with a 5-0 spurt to tie the game up. The Saints would convert on six straight points soon after as the Bearcats would keep things interesting with sophomore guard Emma Slings (Polk City, Iowa) giving her squad their first three-pointer and was followed by Parks laying it in moments later to be down by only one at the end of the first quarter. 

Parks would continue to shine in the second period of play, scoring 10 of her 18 first-half points within. Down eight with under two minutes remaining, the Saints got a pair of buckets in back-to-back possessions, but Parks was able to nail a shot from beyond the arc to give the Bearcats the 32-26 edge going into halftime. 

The two sides would come into the second half trading baskets on either end of the floor, making it even for the majority of the quarter. Up by just five in less than three minutes of the period, freshman forward Kyra Taylor (Davenport, Iowa) chipped in five straight points for her team as Maryville notched a couple of threes to end the quarter with McKendree leading 49-45. 

The alternating buckets continued their way into the fourth period of play, where Parks and Slings contributed six and five points, respectively, within the first several minutes of the quarter. With 2:20 left and down by one, the Saints reeled in eight consecutive points to regain a five-point lead. The Bearcats kept hanging on as long as they could with Parks hitting a step-back three-pointer with 14 seconds left to cut their deficit to one. However, Maryville capitalized at the line via intentional fouling and would escape with the 69-65 win. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Parks' 35 points is a career-high for the sophomore, as she did so by shooting 12-21 from the floor, 3-5 from three, and a perfect 8-8 from the line. She also corralled eight rebounds, dished out a pair of assists, and earned a steal. 

• Taylor finished with 12 points on 5-10 shooting with four rebounds, two assists, and a block. 

• Slings rounded out the double-digit scoring for the Bearcats as she had 10 points while going 2-5 from deep and notching a team-high five assists. 

• Senior forward Faith Hawthorne led the way for the Saints with 13 points on 6-10 shooting while also getting four rebounds, a steal, and a block. 

• Although scoring only five points, senior guard Gracie Stugart finished with a game-high 11 rebounds and nine assists. 

• McKendree shot 41.4% from the field, 30.0% from distance, and 78.6% from the stripe while the Saints ended with 40.3%, 17.9%, and 45.5% respectively. 

• Maryville was +16 in points off of turnovers, +11 in bench points, +16 in points in the paint, +15 in second-chance points, and + 17 in fast break points. 

• The 35 points from Parks marks the most in the program since guard Christy Fortune (Appleton, Wis.) dropped in 36 in a win over Blackburn College on November 23rd, 2021. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will be back in action on Saturday, February 1st, when they stay on the road to take on the University of Missouri-St. Louis at the Mark Twain Building in St. Louis, Missouri, with tip-off set for 1:00 PM CT. 

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