LEBANON, Ill. – The women's basketball team utilized a second-half spurt to cushion their win against the University of Indianapolis on Saturday, February 15th in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois. 

Score: McKendree University 79, University of Indianapolis 64 

Record: Bearcats 13-9, 9-7 GLVC | Greyhounds 8-17, 6-11 GLVC 

HOW IT HAPPENED

McKendree sophomore guard Emma Slings (Polk City, Iowa) started things off by burying a three-point shot but UIndy's leading scorer junior guard Patricia Chikamba was able to knot it up at five a-piece after converting on an and-one opportunity. Next possession after, the Bearcats answered with junior guard Chloe White (Brussels, Ill.) giving the team their second three of the game and followed up with a layup inside in their next possession. With McKendree up two, they would spurt on a 10-7 run, led by eight straight from sophomore forward Baylie Parks (Lake Zurich, Ill.) to end the first quarter with a 20-15 lead. 

Bearcat freshman forward Kyra Taylor (Davenport, Iowa) began the second period of play with a lay-in through contact to up her squad's lead to seven, but the Greyhounds were quick to respond with a massive 8-0 run to snag their first lead of the game. Taylor kept her eye on the prize with a pair of inside layups on back-to-back possessions and regained the lead once more. McKendree gave UIndy a taste of their own medicine with an 8-0 run of their own behind a couple of breakaway layups from White and go into halftime with a comfortable 36-27 lead. 

Both teams would tread evenly into the third quarter with each side sharing the ball among several of their players, with McKendree still holding a 10-point edge. Slings knocked down another three-ball soon after as each side dropped 12 points in the final four minutes of the period with the Bearcats still holding on by a good margin, 58-48. 

The Bearcats would start to pull away at the beginning of the final quarter of play with a commanding 12-4 run to up their lead to 18, with Parks getting inside for a couple of shots. Greyhound junior guard Jaelynne Murray paused the hot offense by the Bearcats momentarily with a shot from beyond the arc, but McKendree freshman guard Tessa Crawford (Jerseyville, Ill.) clutched the game away by sinking the long shot to give her team their first win in nine days, 79-64. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Parks led McKendree in scoring in their second straight game with 24 points in the win on 11-17 shooting along with a game-high 11 rebounds and five assists, a block, and a career-high five steals. 

• Kyra Taylor scored her 10th straight double-figure outing with 16 points on an efficient 5-9 shooting and a perfect 6-6 from the line while grabbing seven boards and dishing a trio of assists. 

• White notched a career-high 15 points while also going a perfect 4-4 from the charity stripe as she stole the ball three times and tallied two assists. 

• Murray led UIndy with 15 points on 6-11 shooting and 2-4 from distance to go with a pair of blocks and steals. 

• McKendree shot 49.2% from the field, 31.6% from distance, and 100% from the stripe while the Greyhounds ended with 45.1%, 33.3%, and 81.3% respectively. 

• The Bearcats were +14 in points off of turnovers and points within the paint, and +12 in fast break points. 

• UIndy, despite the loss, was +3 in bench points, and +1 in second-chance points. 

• The last time McKendree went 100% from the charity stripe was on January 8th, 2022, when they went a perfect 6-6 against Truman State University. 

• Parks is now 22-for-22 on games scoring in double-digits. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will be back in action on Thursday, February 20th, when they hit the road to take on Quincy University at the Pepsi Arena in Quincy, Illinois, with tip-off set for 5:30 PM CT. 

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