LEBANON, Ill. – The women's basketball team capitalized on a 13-2 run in the final four minutes of regulation to get back into the win column against William Jewell College on Thursday, January 9th in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois.
Score: McKendree University 64, William Jewell College 51
Record: Bearcats 9-3, 5-1 GLVC | Cardinals 3-8, 1-4 GLVC
HOW IT HAPPENED
McKendree would start things off with a couple of inside layups within the first minute of action but were responded by a 14-2 run made by WJC that took over the next four minutes to put themselves up by eight. The next possession after, Bearcat sophomore forward Baylie Parks (Lake Zurich, Ill.) drove inside for second made lay-in as fellow teammate, freshman forward Kyra Taylor (Davenport, Iowa) did her most to get her team involved in assisting in a couple of short-range shots from junior guards Georgia Duncan (Washington, Ill.) and Chloe White (Brussels, Ill.). Being up now by just two, the Cardinals hit a three-point shot and a layup to give themselves a seven-point cushion. In hopes of getting some sort of momentum for McKendree, senior guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill.) found senior guard Maci Meyer (Hubertus, Wis.) in the corner, and drilled the three-pointer as time expired to find themselves down only 15-19.
The second quarter was a low-scoring affair for the two squads as they traded baskets in the first three minutes of the period until the Bearcats reeled off five straight points to take the one-point lead with under four minutes left of the quarter. The Cardinals chipped in a couple more baskets to go into halftime with a 28-25 edge.
Although there were a few more buckets in period number three, only two players for McKendree and three for WJC Scored in the entire quarter. Breden notched in 12, with all coming within the team's first 14 of 17-quarter points, as Parks sunk in the other five, including the last three points. Junior guard Ayden Shannon contributed seven of the Cardinals' 11 points in the period, which consisted of scoring seven straight at one point. The Bearcats essentially flipped the script, and would now have themselves a three-point lead, up 42-39.
Once again, both sides continued to go back and forth, this time at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Cardinals would score six straight with a hair under five minutes remaining in regulation and be down by only two. However, Breden, Parks, and Duncan would all come together in the final moments to close out the game on a monumental 13-2 run and give the Bearcats another conference win, 64-51
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
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Breden finished with 29 points, tying a career-high in which set against the University of Missouri-St. Louis on February 15th, 2023. She went 4-7 from three-point range while collecting three rebounds, a pair of steals, and an assist.
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McKendree shot 46.4% from the field, 37.5% from distance, and 50.0% from the stripe while the Cardinals ended with 37.3%, 27.8%, and 33.3% respectively.
UP NEXT
McKendree will be back in action on Saturday, January 11th, when they stay home at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center to take on Truman State University in Lebanon, Illinois, with tip-off set for 1:00 PM CT.
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