Women’s Basketball Falls to Purdue Northwest to Conclude Midwest Crossover

TIFFIN, Ohio – The McKendree women’s basketball team concluded their weekend outing here Saturday at the Midwest Region Crossover hosted by Tiffin University with a 76-45 setback to Purdue Northwest. 

Saturday’s game was the second contest of the weekend and of the season for McKendree as they played Tiffin on Friday evening, falling to the Dragons 51-41. 

Leading the Bearcats offensively was junior forward Naomi McDaniel (Attica, Ind./Parkland CC) who posted 11 points shooting 5-10 from the field, grabbed eight rebounds, and had two blocks on the night. Sophomore guard Clare Breden (Jerseyville, Ill./Jerseyville), senior guard Erin Golden (Batavia, Ill./Batavia), and junior guard Maclayne Taylor (Ogden, Ill./Lincoln Land CC) all tallied six points each while six more Bearcats were on the board for the contest. 

The Bearcats jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first two minutes of the game, which was answered by a 13-point run from the Pride. At the end of one quarter, the Pride held a 20-10 advantage over the Bearcats. Though McKendree would rally back with an 18-point second quarter, including six points from Daniel, the Pride extended their lead to 12 with a 40-28 score at the half. 

McKendree was held to single-digit scoring in the third and fourth quarters, amassing 18 points in the second half as the Pride shot 51 percent to the Bearcats’ 23 percent from the field in the second half. The final score read 75-46 in favor of Purdue Northwest. 

For the game, McKendree shot 32 percent (17-for-53) from the field and 13 percent (1-for-8) from the 3-point line, while Purdue Northwest shot 47 percent (28-for-60) from the field and 30 percent (3-for-20) from the 3-point line. The Pride also took the battle of rebounds, grabbing 42 to McKendree’s 30. 

“This week, we are going to get back to work and get in some good, solid practices before next weekend’s tournament at Quincy,” said head coach Kari Kerkhoff. “Now we just need to focus on improving and that will be determined by our practice intensity.” 

The Bearcats are back in action next weekend at the Hansen-Spear Funeral Home Classic hosted by Quincy University with a game against Winona State on Friday, Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. and another on Saturday, Nov. 19 against Rogers State at 2 p.m.