ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The women's basketball team hung around in the first half of play before getting out-run in the second against the University of Missouri-St. Louis on Saturday, February 1st in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action at the Mark Twain Building in St. Louis, Missouri. 

Score: McKendree University 50, University of Missouri-St. Louis 68 

Record: Bearcats 11-8, 7-6 GLVC | Tritons 16-4, 10-3 GLVC 

HOW IT HAPPENED

It was a tight first quarter, with neither team getting ahead by more than three points. The Iowa natives for McKendree in freshman forward Kyra Taylor and sophomore guard Emma Slings each gave the Bearcats five layups inside as Taylor had three of them. UMSL began with some balanced scoring throughout as the game would be tied, 16-16 at the end of the first quarter. 

The second period of play was still a contested battle between the two but was also a low-scoring affair. Both sides were only able to muster up eight points each as they went back-and-fourth. With the Tritons up by three with seconds remaining, they let up a shot which bounced into the hands of Slings, who would dribble all the way to mid-court to heave a made half-court shot as time expired. The game would still be tied at 24 a-piece heading into halftime. 

Coming out of halftime, UMSL caught fire with a 12-2 run that lasted for 3 minutes and 45 seconds. Within the next four and a half minutes of action, both sides would notch in 10 points each as the Bearcats would trail by 10. UMSL continued to be strong inside by closing the quarter off with five straight points to lead 51-36. 

The Triton lead continued to grow within the first several minutes of the final quarter of the game, but McKendree did their best to claw their way back by making all eight of their free throws. Yet, the deficit would be too much for the Bearcats to overcome, as they would drop the contest on the road, 50-68. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Parks led McKendree with 14 points in going 4-11 from the field and a perfect 6-6 from the line while grabbing six rebounds and tallying two blocks, a steal, and an assist. 

• Slings finished with 11 points on 5-8 shooting along with a rebound and a steal. 

• Taylor rounded out the double-digit scoring for the Bearcats with 10 points and with four rebounds. 

• UMSL was led by graduate guard Kate Rolfes, who had a game-high 20 points while going 7-12 from the field and 6-10 from deep along with a pair of rebounds and steals. 

• McKendree shot 41.3% from the field, 12.5% from distance, and 61.1% from the stripe while the Tritons ended with 44.3%, 42.9%, and 83.3% respectively. 

• Despite the loss, the Bearcats were +3 in points off of turnovers, +1 in bench points, +14 in points in the paint, and +4 in fast break points. 

• UMSL was +11 in second-chance points. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will be back in action on Thursday, February 6th, when they stay on the road to take on the University of Illinois Springfield at The Recreation and Athletic Center (TRAC) in Springfield, Illinois, with tip-off set for 5:30 PM CT. 

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