QUINCY, Ill. – The women's basketball team made some big records, but a slow start doomed the Bearcats against Quincy University on Thursday, February 20th in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action at the Pepsi Arena in Quincy, Illinois. 

Score: McKendree University 76, Quincy University 88

Record: Bearcats 13-10, 9-8 GLVC | Hawks 21-5, 15-2 GLVC 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Quincy took control of the first six minutes of the game, opening up a 12-0 lead with five different Hawks scoring within the span. McKendree finally got on the board with a pair of made free throws by sophomore forward Baylie Parks (Lake Zurich, Ill.). Yet Quincy kept on extending their lead with an 11-4 run immediately after before freshman forward Kyra Taylor (Davenport, Iowa) found Parks for an open mid-range jumper to get the team's first field goal as they would trail at the end of the first quarter 8-23. 

The pace of play would pick up a bit in the second period of play for the Bearcats as freshman guard Tessa Crawford (Jerseyville, Ill.) knocked down her squad's first three-pointer as Parks and the Quincy native freshman Taylor Fohey for a pair of twos to cut their deficit to 14. The Hawks enacted on another run soon after to up their lead to 21 as McKendree answered with a small 7-3 run, but the Bearcats would still trail at the end of half number one, 25-44. 

Both teams traded baskets midway through the third quarter as McKendree's guards in senior Maci Meyer (Hubertus, Wis.) and sophomore Emma Slings (Polk City, Iowa) each sunk a shot from beyond the arc to keep the Bearcats content. A couple of minutes would pass without any score on either side, but McKendree remained intact from distance where junior guard Chloe White (Brussels, Ill.) gave her team another three-point shot to lift them on a 14-9 run to bring them within 12. Quincy would still lead 61-47 at the end of the third period. 

The two teams from the state of Illinois continued to tread water throughout the majority of the final quarter of regulation with an even-balanced scoring effort. The Bearcats gave it a final push in the final 1:18 of action with nine straight points from the juniors in guard Georgia Duncan (Washington, Ill.) and Alyssa Powell (Troy, Ill.) with five and four respectively as the Hawks would go wire-to-wire and win 88-76 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Parks finished with a game-high 24 points on 8-18 shooting including going 7-8 from the line as she collected 17 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocked shots. 

• White had 11 points for McKendree while pulling down six rebounds plus an assist and a block. 

• Duncan rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 points as she went 3-4 from the floor and 2-2 from three and snatched a pair of steals. 

• Quincy graduate guard Nicole McDermott led her squad with 19 points on 7-11 shooting while getting two rebounds and assists, and a steal. 

• McKendree shot 36.9% from the field, 41.2% from distance, and 75.0% from the stripe while the Hawks ended with 44.1%, 43.8%, and 75.0% respectively. 

• Despite the loss, the Bearcats were +2 in second-chance points. 

• Quincy was +7 in points off of turnovers, +5 in bench points, +2 in points inside the paint, and +8 in fast break points. 

• With her abundant 24 points and 17 rebounds, Parks has broken the program's NCAA Division II record for most double-doubles in a season with 11. 

• Parks' 17 boards are also the most corralled by any GLVC player within conference action so far this season. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will be back in action on Saturday, February 22nd, when they stay on the road to take on Upper Iowa University at the Dorman Memorial Gymnasium in Fayette, Iowa, with tip-off set for 1:00 PM CT. 

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