The William Jewell women's basketball team put together a furious second half rally on Thursday night but came up just short, falling 78-74 to McKendree University. The loss drops the Cardinals to 5-9 on the season and 1-5 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. 

How it Happened

• Trailing by three, McKendree closed the opening quarter on a 9-4 run to hold a 18-10 lead after one. 
• The Bearcats grew their lead to 15 midway through the second period but three pointers from Kiara Bradley and Lea Finn pulled Jewell within 10 at the half. 
• McKendree came out hot in the second half, opening up a 19-point advantage before Jewell's Bailey Russell went on a barrage, scoring 13 points over a span of just minutes to pull the Cardinals back within 10. 
• The offense continued to break through in the final period as a 23-14 run, capped by a layup by Rhyann Fisher pulled Jewell within one. Sydney Offield followed by stealing the ensuing in-bounds pass and scoring to give the Cardinals their first lead since the opening quarter. The Bearcats retook the lead for good an a layup by Jenna Krause with 50 seconds to play and connected on all eight free throw attempts down the stretch. 

For the Cardinals

• The freshman Russell shined, scoring 22 points on 5-of-8 from the three point line, to go along with two blocks, and five steals in 28 minutes of work off the bench. 
• Ainsley Tolson followed with 15 points, her third career-best mark in three games, while Macyn Wilbers added a career-best 14. 
• The offense came to life in the fourth quarter as Jewell scored more points in the final 10 minutes than the first 20 combined. Wilbers and Tolson joined together for 19 of those points
• The Cardinals pulled down 13 offensive rebounds which led to 15 points. 
• Jewell posted five blocks, two by Russell and Claire Burch and one by Lea Finn. This is the first time the Cardinals have posted five or more blocks since November 2015 when they had 10 against Evangel. 

For the Bearcats 

• Jordan Heberg led all scorers with 24 points while Shayli Florine added 13, Jenna Krause 12, and Madison Hart 10. 
• McKendree shot nearly 54% from the field and connected on 33-of-40 free throws. 

Up Next
Jewell is back in action on Saturday as they host Southern Indiana at 1 p.m.