Kirksville, MO - The McKendree University Women's Basketball team may have had a lengthy bus ride out west to Pershing Arena to take on the Truman State Bulldogs on Thursday night, but the trip didn't seem to phase the Bearcats (7-5, 4-2 GLVC), who slowly pulled away with a surplus of energy, leading by as many as 22 points for an eventual 84-64 win against the Bulldogs (7-7, 4-2 GLVC). The win is the largest margin of victory for the Bearcats in a GLVC road game since they defeated Southwest Baptist by 37 points during the 2023-24 season.

McKendree won the opening tipoff and went right to work in the paint, powered by Baylie Parks and Kyra Taylor. Perhaps setting the tone for the Bearcats' interior dominance, Taylor got a tip-in off an offensive rebound to start the day. While Truman State answered for the first time thanks to perimeter shooting, McKendree continued to attack the paint, with Madison Johnson joining the inside game, getting a drive-and-score bucket off an assist from Tessa Crawford. Now, the Bulldogs would start to generate some interior offense of their own, giving the hosts a lead midway through the quarter. The opening frame continued to be a see-saw affair, as Crawford would finish with a driving layup (assist Emma Slings), briefly giving McKendree a lead again. The Bearcats would close the quarter with a defensive stop and a rebound, holding a slim 23-22 lead after the game's first 10 minutes.

McKendree would need to weather more threes from the Bulldogs, but would respond immediately by turning defense into offense, with Crawford knocking down a transition three to flip the lead right back. Slings continued to be a spark, drilling another three for more points off turnovers, and later converting a second-chance basket in the paint as part of the first 'true' stretch where it felt like the Bearcats had started to grab momentum. It was during this stretch that rebounding truly came into play, with McKendree able to get multiple offensive rebounds (particularly Johnson and Taylor Fohey). Fohey got a fast break layup (assist Chloe White), as the Bearcats were able to score efficiently thanks to the forcing of live-ball turnovers, and thus not having to rely solely on the half-court. Once again, it was a defensive stand and a rebound in favor of McKendree to end the quarter, with this one giving the Bearcats a 37-33 lead into the halftime locker room. 

The Bearcats came out of the break with energy, especially in transition, as Johnson got a fast-break layup (assist Slings), with Parks holding things down defensively, as the defensive rebounds began to create key opportunities to stretch the lead. Parks got a three as well (another Slings assist), and McKendree had a seven-point lead. It would be an interior finish from Morgan Feil that gave the Bearcats their first double-figure lead. Parks joined the points-off-turnovers parade with a jumper of her own to close the quarter on a high note, with McKendree holding a nine-point lead (53-44) with just one quarter to go.

Granted, it may have seemed like the Bearcats were already playing a multi-faceted, high-energy game through 30 minutes, but in the last 10, they were able to go further. McKendree immediately doubled down on second-chance pressure, with Johnson taking to the offensive glass, grabbing multiple boards consecutively, eventually converting a put-back in the paint. Chloe White cut the passing lane off for a steal, finding Johnson on a fast-break layup, and just like that, the lead had swelled to 15 points. One of many bench energy moments towards the end of the game, Slings would hit a timeout-forcing trey in front of the Bearcat bench with 6:43 to go, forcing the host Bulldogs to regroup. Momentum turned into a door-closing effort thanks to a pair of paint touches from Kyra Taylor. McKendree closed the quarter continuing to force turnovers, score on the other end, and owning the boards (+16 by game's end) before the clock hit zero and the Bearcats walked away with the 20-point win.

BEARCAT INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES
Tessa Crawford | 18 points (4 3's)
Kyra Taylor | 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Madison Johnson | 15 points, 9 rebounds (6 offensive)
Emma Slings | 13 points (3 3's), 3 rebounds, 7 assists
Baylie Parks | 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals
Chloe White | 5 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Morgan Feil | 3 points, 8 rebounds

BEARCAT TEAM STATS
Field Goals | 32-of-63 (50.8%)
3-Pointers | 9-of-17 (52.9%)
Free Throws | 11-of-12 (91.7%)
Rebounds | 14 offensive, 29 defensive (43 total)
Assists | 19
Turnovers | 14
Steals | 5
Points in the Paint | 46
Second Chance Points | 17
Fast Break Points | 13
Bench Points | 23

OTHER GLVC WBB SCORES FOR 01-08-26
Upper Iowa 67, UIndy 62 (@ Fayette, IA)
UMSL 58, Rockhurst 43 (@ Kansas City, MO)
Quincy 71, UIS 70 (@ Quincy, IL)
Southwest Baptist 68, Lincoln 51 (@ Bolivar, MO)
Maryville 83, William Jewell 49 (@ Liberty, MO)
Missouri S&T 74, Drury 67 (@ Springfield, MO)

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE BEARCATS
@ William Jewell Cardinals (0-12, 0-6 GLVC)
Saturday, January 10th, 2026 - 1:00 PM CST
at Mabee Center - Liberty, Missouri
Watch Live ($) (GLVCSN)
Live Stats (Sidearm Sports)
Tickets (HomeTown Ticketing)