Eureka Ramps Up SLIAC Play Wednesday Versus Fontbonne
EUREKA, Ill. -- The Eureka College women's basketball team will turn its attention to the final 13 games of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule when the Fontbonne Griffins visit Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena Wednesday for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
PDF Version of Eureka Game Notes
AT A GLANCE
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017
Location: Eureka, Ill.
Site: Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena (1,000)
Series Since 1983: Fontbonne leads 15-10
Series in Eureka Since 1983: Fontbonne leads 8-5
Last Meeting: Eureka won 67-65, Feb. 13, 2016 in Eureka, Ill. (Box Score)
Last 10 Meetings: Eureka leads 8-2
Current Streak: Eureka W1
Thompson vs. Fontbonne: 3-1
EUREKA RED DEVILS
Record: 7-5, 3-0 SLIAC
Head Coach: Steve Thompson, 3rd season (Wooster '01)
FONTBONNE GRIFFINS
Record: 5-7, 2-2 SLIAC
Head Coach: Maureen Sias, 3rd season (Fontbonne '03)
FOLLOW THE GAME
Live Video: EurekaRedDevils.com
Live Stats: EurekaRedDevils.com
Twitter Updates: @EurekaGameDay, @FBUGriffins
ABOUT EUREKA
Eureka is 7-5 overall and will put its perfect 3-0 SLIAC record on the line Wednesday against the Griffins. A victory on Wednesday would give the Red Devils' their first-ever 4-0 start to league play at the NCAA Division III level.
Wednesday's contest is just the fifth home game of the season for the Red Devils. Eureka is 3-1 in its previous four games at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena and is trying to begin the home schedule with a 4-1 mark for the second time under head coach Steve Thompson.
Eureka has been effective from 3-point range this season, leading the nine-team SLIAC in makes per game (8.2) and attempts per game (24.8). The Red Devils' team 3-point field percentage of 32.9 ranks second among SLIAC schools. EC also ranks among the league's top-three in scoring (74.5, second), field goal percentage (41.1, second), rebounding (41.3, third), assists (19.9, second), steals (10.2, second) and blocked shots (3.6, first).
Eureka was picked to finish sixth in the SLIAC, according to a coaches' poll released before the start of the season.
SUNDAY'S BIG WIN
Eureka shot a season-high 56 percent from the field and scored 100 points for the first time in more than four years in a 100-85 non-conference victory over Rust (Miss.), last Sunday afternoon at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena.
The 100-point outburst was Eureka's best since defeating Knox, 112-83, on Nov. 15, 2012. Additionally, the Red Devils' 56 percent shooting effort was their most accurate performance since connecting at a 59 percent clip at Westminster on Feb. 2, 2013.
Five Red Devils scored in double figures, led by 22 points from junior guard Hayley Reneau and a career-high 14 points off the bench from freshman guard Ashley Harfst. Senior forward Michaela Balducci netted 17 points, Kennedy Dura had 13 and junior guard Kerrigan Dura finished with 10. Sophomore forward Lexi Dooley hauled down 12 rebounds.
The Red Devils compiled 14 steals as a team, led by four apiece from Reneau and Luci Weis. EC also outrebounded RC, 39-37, and outscored the Bearcats in the paint, 48-24.
RENEAU'S ACCURATE DAY
Sunday's win over Rust also brought a big day from junior guard Hayley Reneau.
The 5-foot-6 transfer from Illinois Central scored a team-high 22 points on an 8-for-9 performance from the floor, Eureka's second-most accurate individual shooting performance of the season. Additionally, her 5-for-6 effort from 3-point range was Eureka's best by a player to make at least five 3-pointers since Emily Camden put up the same 5-for-6 performance at MacMurray on Jan. 2, 2016.
ABOUT FONTBONNE
Fontbonne has a 5-7 overall record and a 2-2 mark in SLIAC play, owning home league wins over MacMurray and Blackburn. The Griffins split two contests on their most recent road trip to Florida, including a 70-60 win over Webber International on New Year's Eve.
Kaitlynn Walker, a sophomore guard from Ladue, Mo., has started every game for the Griffins this season and averages a team-high 12.2 points per game. She also crashes the glass to the tune of 26 offensive rebounds, sixth-most in the SLIAC.
Senior guard Emmie Haring runs the FU offense and broke the Griffins' all-time assists record of 438 last month. The two-time All-SLIAC pick from Ballwin, Mo. ranks sixth nationally this season with 63 assists, according to the latest NCAA statistical update on Dec. 22. She has ranked among the national top-10 in assists per game each of the last two seasons.
One of only four active charter members of the SLIAC, the Griffins are the winningest women's basketball program in conference history with 266 all-time league wins. Fontbonne has been to a league-high 17 SLIAC Tournaments since the event began in 1991. The Griffins have won seven regular-season SLIAC titles, including at least a share of four in a row from 1998 through 2001. The Griffins have also claimed three SLIAC Tournament championships and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 2001.
The Griffins were picked seventh in a preseason SLIAC coaches' poll. Fontbonne has not qualified for the league tournament since being eliminated by the Red Devils in a semifinal contest in 2012.
ABOUT THE HEAD COACHES
Steve Thompson is in his third season as head coach of the Red Devils.
Since taking the reins of the program in 2014, Thompson has built on the Red Devils' sustained success and guided EC to the SLIAC Tournament in each of his first two seasons, including a title game appearance in 2015.
In addition to his role with the Eureka women's basketball program, Thompson has served EC as Director of Athletics since Jan. 2, 2014. Thompson has more than a decade of administrative experience in collegiate athletics, including five years at NCAA Division III Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
Maureen Sias, a 2003 graduate of Fontbonne, is in her third season as head coach of the Griffins. She is 24-38 overall and 16-24 against SLIAC opponents after guiding FU to a sixth-place finish in 2014-15 and a seventh-place showing a year ago.
Sias played four seasons for the Griffins (1999-03) and holds the program's all-time record for free throw percentage (85%). She also served FU as an assistant coach for five seasons prior to being appointed head coach in 2014 and owns a master's degree from Fontbonne.
SERIES VERSUS FONTBONNE
Fontbonne leads the all-time series with the Red Devils, 15-10, since the first meeting between the two schools on Jan. 31, 2000, a game Fontbonne won 61-56 in Eureka. Fontbonne won all four non-conference games against EC.
Since becoming SLIAC rivals in 2006, Fontbonne has a slim 11-9 advantage in 20 regular-season contests. EC has won nine of the last 11 games versus FU since Jan. 14, 2012, including its first-ever SLIAC Tournament victory on Feb. 24, 2012.
The Red Devils are 5-8 against the Griffins in Eureka and have won three straight home contests in the series. The two squads split their home-and-home series last season.
LAST TIME VERSUS FONTBONNE
Emily Camden hit a trio of free throws with 0.7 seconds left on the clock, helping the Red Devils celebrate Senior Day with a 67-65 SLIAC victory over Fontbonne in overtime on Feb. 13, 2016 at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena and Convocation Center.
The contest was back and forth over the first period of play with five ties and seven lead changes, but eventually the Griffins pulled in front 18-16 after 10 minutes of play. In the second quarter, Eureka would take the lead and outscore Fontbonne 17-5 to head into the locker room with a 33-23 edge.
Eureka took their largest lead of the game at 37-25 with 8:33 remaining in the third period before the Griffins cut into the EC lead with an 8-0 run. The Red Devils took a 45-38 lead into the final period.
The Red Devils built their lead back up to twelve, 50-38, with 8:36 remaining but the Griffins would engineer a comeback. An 11-0 run by FU tied the contest at 54-54 with 4:06 left and neither team was able to separate themselves over the final minutes of play to force overtime.
Camden scored a game-high 25 points, including three triples. She finished the day 7-of-12 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Lexi Dooley tallied a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds.
Fontbonne's Erika Kuhn scored 16 points and nabbed 10 rebounds for the visitors. Eureka held the Griffins to 1-of-11 (.090) from beyond the arc.
FOLLOW THE ACTION ONLINE
A live video broadcast and live statistics will be provided at EurekaRedDevils.com.
The Eureka College media relations staff will provide updates throughout the game via Twitter at @EurekaGameDay.