ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The women's water polo team showed progress on the last day of the Midwest Invite in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where they came up close to Mount St. Mary's University by three points before losing their momentum against No.10 Indiana University to close out on Sunday, February 15th at the Donald B. Canham Natatorium.
GAME ONE vs. Mount St. Mary's
BOX SCORE
Score: McKendree University 7, Mount St. Mary's University 11
Record: Bearcats 3-7, 0-0 WWPA | Mountaineers 2-7, 0-0 MAAC
HOW IT HAPPENED
With a slow start on day two of the Invite, the Mountaineers notched in the game's first two goals whereas junior attacker Shanelle Márquez (Madrid, Spain) got the Bearcats on the board with their first score. She later in the opening minutes of the second quarter found the back of the net for another to trail by just a narrow 2-4.
With Mount St. Mary's tacking multiple converted goals on each one made by McKendree, they would head into halftime with a 7-2 advantage,
To open up half number two, senior attacker Jazmine Sandoval (Westminster, Calif.) drew the early exclusion 30 seconds in, to which she made do on a power play scoring opportunity, as junior attacker Emma Cramer (Brentwood, Calif.) earned her second goal as a Bearcat roughly four minutes later.
After Mount St. Mary's swung in another goal to begin the final period of play, junior utility Hailey Munoz (Murrieta, Calif.) went blazing in the waters and scored three straight goals for her squad, all of which came off either an exclusion or a five-meter penalty. Down by four with a little under two minutes left in regulation, junior attacker Mikayla Brown (Concord, Calif.) netted her fifth goal of the season, as McKendree drew just short to the Mountaineers as they finished with an 8-11 setback.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Munoz finished with a team-high three goals, which is the most she has scored all season.
• Márquez ended with two goals in the matchup on four shots (50.0%) while also attributing an assist.
• Sandoval, Cramer, and Brown each contributed one goal in the narrow loss, as the latter also received credit for an assist along with a field block.
• Freshman goalkeeper Delaney Judkins (La Grange, Ill.) was in the cage the whole 32 minutes, as she came away with a career-high-tying 10 saves.
• McKendree assisted on six of their eight made goals (75.0%) with the two non-
GAME TWO vs. Indiana
BOX SCORE
Score: McKendree University 3, Indiana University 23
Record: Bearcats 3-8, 0-0 WWPA | Hoosiers 11-1, 0-0 MPSF
HOW IT HAPPENED
The top-10 nationally ranked Indiana had the flow of the game in their hands throughout the whole first half of play, as they made do on 16 straight opening goals that bled six minutes into the third period until freshman utility Charlie Monroe (The Woodlands, Texas) stopped the run with her first goal of the Invite.
Less than a minute subsequently after, Munoz drew her second five-meter penalty, to which she would convert successfully on the earned attempt.
With two and a half minutes of regulation, Sandoval fired one inside to give her team a third goal in the contest, but it would be far from the Hoosiers' high-octane offense, where they defeated the Bearcats 23-3.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Sandoval tabbed in her eight goal of the season, where she has scored at least once in seven of 11 games.
• Munoz continued her impressive performance at the Midwest Invite by tacking on another goal to her five-goal weekend.
• Monroe was both the lead and the supplier, as the freshman registered a goal, plus an assist to give her a pair of points.
• Freshman goalkeeper Daisy Wetherholt (Malibu, Calif.) finished with three saves after spending the entire game inside the net.
UP NEXT
McKendree will take a bye weekend before traveling back north, this time to Rock Island, Illinois, where they will face their in-state rival Augustana College for a second time this season on Saturday, February 28th at 2:00 PM CT inside the Anne Greve Lund Natatorium.
Streaming and live stat destinations are to be determined.
Make sure to keep up with McKendree University Water Polo on Instagram, X (Twitter), and TikTok. #NCAAwaterpolo
For more updates and information on Bearcat Athletics, please continue to visit McKBearcats.com and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram.
#BearcatsUnleashed
