Women’s Basketball Drops to No.2 Drury in Home Finale

LEBANON, Ill. – McKendree University women’s basketball (10-15, 7-11 GLVC) finished its home slate on Saturday afternoon, dropping to the second-ranked Drury Panthers (25-1, 18-0 GLVC), 81-54, at the Harry M. Statham Sports Center. McKendree sits 10th in the Great Lakes Valley Conference PRS standings at 2.69 and will be looking for a pair of crucial wins to break into the top-eight to clinch a GLVC Tournament spot. The Bearcats head to Maryville on February 23 and UMSL on February 25 to end the regular season.

McKendree was led by a pair of double-digit scorers in junior forward Naomi McDaniel and junior guard Madyson Harper as McDaniel scored 14 and Harper collected 12. McDaniel shot 7-13 from the field with seven rebounds with a pair of blocks while it was her 20th game in double-figure scoring. Harper hit two three-pointers while going 6-8 from the charity stripe with four assists and three rebounds.

The Bearcats faced the top team in the league, trying to steal a win to help their postseason tournament case but struggled to hold-off the highly-ranked Panthers. Drury totaled five double-digit scorers, stifling the Bearcats with a strong fourth quarter. 

In the first half, McKendree kept it close for the majority of the first quarter with the Panthers holding a lead at six or less until the final minute. The Panthers went up nine to end the quarter behind a pair of free throws as there was no scoring in the final minute and a half. In the second quarter, Drury went up 18 points at the peak of the first half but the Bearcats cut…