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McKendree University Athletics

Schedule

Bella Morquecho
Bella Morquecho
10
Fresno Pacific FPU (14-11)
16
Winner McKendree McK (19-7)
Fresno Pacific FPU
(14-11)
10
Final
16
McKendree McK
(19-7)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Fresno Pacific FPU 1 3 3 3 10
McKendree McK 3 3 7 3 16

Game Recap: Women's Water Polo | | Chase Messer, Assistant Director of Sports Information

Women’s Water Polo Moves on to WWPA Championship Game, Blazes Sunbirds in Semifinal Action

Bearcats will Look to Clinch their First-Ever NCAA Tournament Berth Tomorrow Against the Two-Time Defending WWPA Champion Biola

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - The women's water polo team pulled away, and with fashion, in their semifinal matchup against Fresno Pacific University in the WWPA Championships tournament on Saturday, April 26th at the Peak Health Aquatic Center at Mylan Park in Morgantown, West Virginia. 

Tomorrow will be the first time the McKendree women's water polo program has made the championship game of the WWPA tournament, and a win in that match will earn them their first-ever bid into the upcoming National Collegiate Water Polo Championships held in early May. 

Score: McKendree University 16, Fresno Pacific University 10 

Record: Bearcats 20-7, 3-1 WWPA | Sunbirds 14-12, 1-3 WWPA 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Emotions were flying high once the game started, with both sides feeling the pressure in getting the ball inside the cage. Bearcat junior attacker Joey Rebelo (Montreal, Québec) picked up where she left off last game as she fired the ball in off the weak side to get the first points on the board. 

A couple of minutes later, Fresno Pacific knotted it up at one apiece as they looked to be right in contention. But McKendree finished the first period off strong as could be, where sophomore utility Hailey Munoz (Murrieta, Calif.) gave her squad two huge goals, including a quick-sling-in right before the horn sounded to go up by two. 

McKendree wasted no time coming into the second quarter in hopes of cushioning their lead. Junior attacker Dylan Murphy (Carlsbad, Calif.) crept her way into the hole where she would get the team's fourth goal thus far. Just moments after the Sunbirds tacked on a pair in response, sophomore center Bella Morquecho (Chicago, Ill.) made the opposition pay for committing a 5-meter penalty to which Morquecho converted on the penalty shot. 

With 37 seconds remaining in the half and the shot clock winding down, junior attacker Jazmine Sandoval (Westminster, Calif.) lobbed a shot high above everyone's head and dropped into the goal as the Bearcats went into the extended break with a 6-4 lead. 

18 seconds into the second half of play, the Sunbirds were just a little too aggressive on the defensive end, picking up another 5-meter penalty and giving Munoz an easy goal to earn herself the hat-trick. Less than a minute afterwards, Fresno Pacific drew the same excessive exclusion and converted themselves. 

However, Morquecho had other plans in mind, as she sparked a mini 3-0 run by the first two of which came from the Chicago native, while sophomore attacker Shanelle Márquez (Madrid, Spain) reached back and swung in the other goal to go up by five. 

The Sunbirds punched back with a small 2-1 run in the midst of the third quarter, cutting their way into the deficit. Yet, Morquecho and company would make that a bit difficult to accomplish as the sophomore struck in her fifth and sixth goals of the contest while Murphy and fifth-year attacker Jasmin Guzman (Cicero, Ill.) helped aid the 4-0 run by the Bearcats. 

Down by eight and with under three and a half minutes remaining in regulation, Fresno Pacific gave it one last shot as they put in another pair of scoring possessions to shorten the gap. But Munoz denied all hopes for the Sunbirds as she fired the shot in right before the shot clock expired, to which McKendree would pull away in the semifinals, winning 16-10. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

  • Morquecho went a 6-7 shooting at the net as she also tallied five drawn exclusions plus one steal. 

  • Munoz followed with four goals on six attempts while adding a pair of assists and a field block. 

  • Murphy recorded two goals and two assists. 

  • Márquez, Sandoval, Guzman, and Rebelo each ended with a goal, as the four combined for seven assists. 

  • Senior goalkeeper Sydney Kane (Kankakee, Ill.) recorded 11 saves in the victory in all 32:00 minutes of play. 

  • Fresno Pacific outshot McKendree 34-31. 

  • The Sunbirds were +1 in total team steals. 

  • The Bearcats were +1 in drawn exclusions.

  • McKendree as a team tied their season-high with six total field blocks. Rebelo also tied her season-high, which is the most on the team, with three in the win.

  • With her six goals in the game, Morquecho has surpassed her 100th career goal plateau across her two collegiate years and now has 102 combined from McKendree and her time at Iona University. 

UP NEXT

McKendree will be back in action tomorrow as they face the two-time defending WWPA champion Biola University in the championship game of the WWPA Championships tournament at 12:00 CT at the Peak Health Aquatic Center at Mylan Park in Morgantown, West Virginia. 

A win there will give McKendree the automatic bid into the National Collegiate Water Polo Championships, which will be held in early May. 

WWP - Celebration

For more updates and information on Bearcat Athletics, please continue to visit McKBearcats.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 
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