Box Score

Bolivar, Mo. - The Southwest Baptist University women's basketball team won their third straight game on Saturday evening, defeating McKendree 54-43. With the victory, SBU moves to 3-2 on the season as they enter into MIAA play.

The Bearcats were the first to strike and take command of an game completely dictated by a strong defensive effort from both teams. SBU started the evening off by scoring the game's first six points, and held a 10-4 lead with 13:28 left in the first half. A layup from Sarah Magana extended the SBU lead to 13 (17-4) with 9:33 remaining in the first, as Southwest Baptist had complete control of the game. McKendree cut the lead down to single digits (21-12), but a pair of buckets from Dilonna Johnson quickly pushed the lead back to 13, and SBU eventually took a 26-15 lead into the break.

In the second half the Bearcats came out strong with back-to-back three's from Johnson and Leann Terrill to push the SBU lead to 17. Terrill added another three with 16:50 left in the game to push the Southwest Baptist lead to game high 18 at 35-17. McKendree battled back, using a 12-1 run to cut the SBU lead down to 36-29, but a layup from Johnson and a three from Magana put the Bearcats back up double-digits at 41-29. SBU continued to control the game, as they cruised to a 54-43 victory.

Dilonna Johnson led the way for SBU offensively, collecting a game high 13 points, while Leann Terrill added 8 and Megan Rosenbohm had 7 points off of the bench. Alexis Edwards had a strong rebounding presence, pulling down a team high 9 boards in the victory. As a team, SBU shot 30.3% from the field, 37.5% from beyond the arc, and 61.5% from the free throw line while holding McKendree to 29.3% shooting from the field.

Southwest Baptist will hit the road next week for a pair of MIAA contests. SBU is set to take on #18 Washburn on Thursday, December 4 with a 5:30 p.m. tip time from Topeka, Kansas.