ERIE, Pa. – The women's water polo team earned their first WWPA win of the 2026 season, pulling away against the host Gannon University 14-12 before also squeaking away with a 13-10 victory over Mercyhurst University to close out the WWPA Erie Classic on Sunday, March 15th at the Hagerty Family Events Center in Erie, Pennsylvania.
GAME ONE vs. Gannon
BOX SCORE
Score: McKendree University 14, Gannon University 12
Record: Bearcats 7-14, 1-1 WWPA | Golden Knights 5-8, 0-2 WWPA
HOW IT HAPPENED
Junior center Bella Morquecho (Chicago, Ill.) struck first blood in the Bearcats' second WWPA matchup of the weekend a little over a minute and a half into action. Yet, the hosting Golden Knights wasted no time getting comfortable in their own pool by responding with a 6-1 run for the remainder of the first period and leading halfway into the second.
McKendree did not let the large deficit impact their focus one bit, as they meshed together seven consecutive goals, with two of which coming via the sophomore attacker Maisie Mattocks (Shutesbury, Mass.), as senior attacker Joey Rebelo (Montreal, Québec, Canada) was able to connect on her second scoring possession of the game. The spurt by the Bearcats gave themselves a 9-6 lead with 6:23 to go in the third quarter.
A couple of power play opportunities drawn by Gannon on back-to-back possessions got them right back to within one before junior attacker Mikayla Brown (Concord, Calif.) struck the ball in from the left wing to put her squad back up by two. Two more scores by the Golden Knights, with the latter coming off a five-meter penalty, tied the match up at 10 apiece, whereas Morquecho popped one into the cage off the feed inside to take the one-point edge heading into the final period of regulation.
After the Golden Knights converted on the shot approximately 30 seconds into the fourth quarter to tie the game up once again, a mini 3-0 spurt by McKendree with the trio of Rebelo, Morquecho, and junior attacker Shanelle Márquez (Madrid, Spain) separated themselves immensely to pull away for their first conference win of the season 14-12 over Gannon.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Rebelo and Morquecho each led with three goals scored for a hat-trick, as the former tied a season-high four assists, plus a trio of steals and a field block on the defensive end. The latter had drawn three exclusions in her scoring output.
• Márquez, Mattocks, and Brown finished with two scoring possessions each, as Márquez contributed on a pair of assists, plus a takeaway.
• Freshman goalkeeper Delaney Judkins (La Grange, Ill.) played all 32:00 minutes of action and recorded 10 saves and a steal.
• McKendree outshot Gannon 36-27.
• The Bearcats assisted on 12 of their 14 goals (85.7%).
• McKendree had the 13-5 advantage in steals.
GAME TWO vs. Mercyhurst
BOX SCORE
Score: McKendree University 13, Mercyhurst University 10
Record: Bearcats 8-14, 1-1 WWPA | Lakers 5-9, 1-3 CWPA
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Mercyhurst got on the board first, McKendree was the one who set the tone early in their final game of the WWPA Erie Classic, as Rebelo caught fire from the water and ignited a 7-1 run to answer with the senior getting the ball into the net for four of those possessions to take a five point lead with three and a half minutes to go in the first half of play.
With the Lakers able to stop the bleeding momentarily with a penalty goal, utility Charlie Monroe (The Woodlands, Texas) went back-to-back on successful shots to make it three straight goals for her team and extend their lead to six. Mercyhurst snuck one inside at the last second of the first half, but McKendree would still be up comfortably at 9-4.
Two more goals from the McKendree offense began the third quarter on the right foot, with one of which coming via sophomore center Victoria Goncalves (Orlando, Fla.) for the second of her career, with fellow sophomore Kaitlyn Goins (East Grand Rapids, Mich.) filling in on the other for her eight make of the season.
A 5-0 flurry by the Lakers brought their team within two with about six minutes left in regulation, and itching for a comeback. Three minutes would pass without another score, but not until Márquez came in the clutch with a man-up conversion, followed by Brown putting all Mercyhurst hopes away with a made shot as well to take home the 13-10 victory over the Lakers.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Rebelo led the team once again, this time with four goals on all four shot attempts (100%) while stuffing the stat sheet with an assist, two drawn exclusions, and a steal.
• Monroe earned her third hat-trick of the season, let alone her career, with three goals on four shots (75.0%) with a team-high five exclusions drawn.
• Márquez continues her scoring stride with a pair of goals in the win, as she took away the ball twice and drew one exclusion.
• Freshman goalkeeper Daisy Wetherholt (Malibu, Calif.) tallied a career-high 11 saves with a steal while being inside the cage all 32:00 minutes.
• McKendree assisted on 10 of their 13 goals scored (76.9%).
UP NEXT
McKendree will take a bye week next weekend, but will close out their regular season and conference play with the Salem Invitational on March 28th and 29th in Bridgeport, West Virginia at The Bridge Sports Complex, as matchups and game times to be determined.
All contests can be watched for free both live and on demand on the WWPA Network. Live stats will also be provided to the public via The FOSH.
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.
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