SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The women's basketball team made a huge comeback in the second half after being down by 17 against the University of Illinois-Springfield on Thursday, February 6th in Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) action at The Recreation and Athletic Center (TRAC) in Springfield, Illinois. 

Score: McKendree University 77, University of Illinois-Springfield 70 

Record: Bearcats 12-8, 8-6 GLVC | Prairie Stars 5-17, 4-10 GLVC 

HOW IT HAPPENED

McKendree started out on the right foot in the foreign confines as they led 10-3 in the early goings with sophomore forward Baylie Parks (Lake Zurich, Ill.) driving inside for a pair of layups and free throws. Yet, UIS was there to answer immediately with a 9-2 run behind their leading scorer sophomore guard Kayla Rice knocking down a couple of shots from the field to which the game would be tied after period number one 12-all. 

The Prairie Stars would not let up once the second quarter began as they utilized a 20-5 spurt with sophomore guard Emary Doby contributing on 10 of them to put them ahead by a comforting 15 points. As the period started to wind down, Bearcat freshman forward Kyra Taylor (Davenport, Iowa) kept her team within contention with a couple of inside layups as the two sides battled with UIS still up in front 38-21 at halftime. 

Within a couple of minutes into the third quarter, McKendree junior guard Georgia Duncan (Washington, Ill.) nailed a three-point shot plus another basket from inside to bring her squad to within 14 points. Moments later, the Bearcats would start to hit their stride flip the script as they ended the third period of play with 22 straight points in the final 6:37 with Taylor and sophomore guard Emma Slings (Polk City, Iowa) each notching eight points in the run to regain the lead, 52-46. 

UIS halted the run from going any further as they traded baskets with the Bearcats to begin the fourth quarter with Doby hitting a pair of triples with McKendree's senior guard Maci Meyer (Hubertus, Wis.) answering on her end with a pair of her own as the visiting squad would find themselves up by just two. With exactly seven minutes remaining in regulation, the contested battle would continue on its way down the stretch as Taylor and freshman forward Taylor Fohey (Quincy, Ill.) toughed themselves in the pain with a a handful of contested layups as the Prairie Stars would keep trailing close behind. Parks solidified their comeback victory with a quintet of free throws and a clutch layup to win 77-70. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Taylor gave McKendree 21 points on the evening on a effective 8-12 shooting from the field and 5-6 from the line as she also pulled down five rebounds. 

• Parks scored her 20th straight double-figure game, finishing with 16 points along with an abundant 13 rebounds (five offensive), plus three assists, four steals, and a block. 

• Slings rounded out the double-digit scoring for the Bearcats with a dozen points, a trio of assists and a pair of steals. 

• Three UIS players ended the game with 17+ points with Doby leading the bunch with 19. Rice and senior forward Niyah Udoiwood ended with 17 and 18 respectively. 

• McKendree shot 46.7% from the field, 36.4% from distance, and 81.0% from the stripe while the Prairie Stars ended with 50.9%, 38.5%, and 50.0% respectively. 

• The Bearcats were +14 in points in the paint, +8 in second-chance points, and +5 in fast break points. 

• UIS was +2 in points off of turnovers and +12 in bench points. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will get some much-needed rest this weekend and will be back in action on Thursday, February 13th, when return home to take on the Lewis University at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Illinois, with tip-off set for 5:30 PM CT. 

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