LEBANON, ILL. – The Maryville women's basketball used a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter to post a 76-63 victory at McKendree Saturday afternoon. The Saints defense forced 16 consecutive missed shots over a seven-minute stretch to key the triumph. Gracie Gopalan led five Saints in double figures with a season-high 16 points and hit all five of her field goal attempts. The win is the 100th career coaching victory for Brita Hand.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Down by two at halftime, Alicia Burgos' bucket tied the game at 37-37 in the third quarter. McKendree took its largest lead of the day at 49-43 before the Saints charged. Liz Behan made one free throw and Bree Shannon followed with a bucket. Olivia Hahn hit consecutive buckets to give the Saints a 50-49 lead. Maryville scored the last five points of the quarter on two free throws by Lindsey Schadewalt and a 3-pointer by Hahn for a 55-52 lead.
 
The Bearcats slowly came back and tied the game at 59-59 with 7:52 to play. The Maryville defense took over and shutdown the McKendree attack. Gopalan started the decisive 13-0 run with back-to-back layups. Claire Lueken and Schadewalt tacked on buckets in the lane. The Saints sank five free throws to take a 72-59 lead. McKendree finally scored again with 50 seconds left to play as the Saints closed out the season sweep of the Bearcats. The Saints hit 7-of-10 shots in the fourth quarter while forcing the Bearcats to manage just 3-of-20 shooting in the frame.
 
Lueken had 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Hahn and Schadewalt both ended up with 11 points. Burgos finished with 10 points and converted all four of her shots from the field.

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points: Gracie Gopalan - 16
Rebounds: Claire Lueken - 7
Assists: Gracie Gopalan - 3
3-Pointers: Claire Lueken - 2
Steals: four players - 1
Blocked Shots: Alicia Burgos - 3
 
RECORDS
Maryville: 16-5, 10-3
McKendree: 11-8, 8-5
 
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Saints return home to Moloney Arena and host Illinois-Springfield for a 5:15 pm game Thursday, Feb. 5.