Southern Illinois News

Women's Basketball Slips Past Hawks in 63-60 Home Win

 McKendree University women's basketball pulled off a 63-60 win over Quincy University on Thursday night at Harry M. Statham Sports Center. With the win, the Bearcats improve to 8-10 overall and 5-6 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

McKendree and Quincy were evenly matched, shooting identical percentages in the first quarter at 37.5 percent from the field, 33 percent from three, and hitting two free throws to tie the score at 15-all at the end of the first ten minutes. The Hawks and Bearcats battled closely for the first few minutes of the second period until the Bearcats hit a 9-0 run, gaining momentum at the end of the quarter with an and-1 layup from junior guard Madyson Harper. McKendree held its largest lead at the half, 34-25.

The third quarter saw three ties in the score as Quincy started with a 9-4 run. Tied at 41-41, the Bearcats shot over 60 percent from the field in the fourth quarter en route to a three-point win, 63-60.

McKendree head coach Kari Kerkhoff said of the win, "We had players make some great shots and strong moves to finish and kept our composure throughout a competitive game. We have a great defense focus and made hustle plays down the stretch which led to us finishing the game with a win."

The Bearcats were led offensively by junior forward Naomi McDaniel who was just shy of a double-double with 12 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks. McDaniel scored 10 of her 12 points in the Bearcats' 22-point fourth quarter, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.

Joining McDaniel in double digits were junior guard Maclayne Taylor tallying 11 points and six rebounds as well as sophomore guard Clare Breden posting 10 points in the victory. Breden also dished out a team-high four assists. Harper was the fourth leading scorer for McKendree, netting nine points and grabbing four rebounds.

Junior Erin Golden was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line to add eight points in the win.

The Bearcats outshot the Hawks from the field 51 percent to 41 percent and from the three-point line 38 percent to Quincy's 30 percent.

Quincy drops to 9-11 overall and 5-7 in the GLVC with the loss. The Hawks were led by senior guard Beth Matas Martin with 16 points and four assists. Matas, who came into the game averaging 2.42 made three-pointers per game, was held to just one three pointer in the contest.

McKendree continues GLVC play on Saturday at Illinois-Springfield at 1 p.m. 

Original source can be found here