Eureka Looks For Ninth League Win Thursday Versus Spalding

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EUREKA, Ill. -- The Eureka College women's basketball team will put the final unbeaten St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record on the line Thursday when the Red Devils host Spalding at 6 p.m. inside Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena.

ABOUT EUREKA

The Red Devils have won six consecutive games -- five by 15 points or more -- to improve their overall season record to 12-5 and their SLIAC record to a perfect 8-0. Eureka, off to its best league start in more than two decades as a member of an NCAA Division III conference, will be playing the middle game of a three-game homestand.

The trio of Hayley Reneau, Michaela Balducci and Kerrigan Dura combine to score 35.1 of Eureka's 73.6 points per game. Reneau shoots 46% from the field and ranks second among SLIAC players with a 13.9 scoring average. Balducci pours in 11.1 points per game and hauls down a team-best 7.4 rebounds per game, while Dura scores 10.1 point on average and ranks 20th in NCAA Division III with 86 total assists.

The EC attack from beyond the arc continues to terrorize opposing defenses. The Red Devils have made 137 3-pointers this season, tops among SLIAC schools and 18th-most in the nation.

Eureka ranks third nationally with 18.9 assists per game and fourth nationally with 321 total assists. Eureka's assist-to-turnover of 1.07 also ranks among the nation's best, 33rd overall. EC is on pace to make more than 200 3-pointers this season and challenge the single-season team record of 223 set in 2014-15, Steve Thompson's first season as head coach.

Eureka was picked to finish sixth in the SLIAC, according to a coaches' poll released before the start of the season.

EUREKA STAYS PERFECT IN SLIAC, ROUTS BLACKBURN

Hayley Reneau scored a game-high 19 points, one of five Red Devils to reach double figures, helping EC improve to 8-0 in SLIAC action with an 84-32 league win over Blackburn, Saturday night at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena.

The 52-point margin of victory was Eureka's largest in a SLIAC game since joining the league prior to the 2006-07 season. It was the biggest win overall since a 90-37 triumph over Lincoln Christian on Feb. 8, 2012.

Additionally, Eureka extended its season-opening SLIAC win streak to eight games, the longest for the Red Devils since earning 10 consecutive conference victories from Jan. 10, 2012 through Feb. 11, 2012.

All 11 players made an appearance for the Red Devils and logged at least 10 minutes of action.Kerrigan Dura didn't score, but set a new personal high with 10 assists in only 23 minutes. She didn't commit a turnover. Reneau had six steals.

Ashley Harfst gave EC a career-high 16 points off the bench. Luci Weis and Kennedy Dura tacked on 12 apiece, and Michaela Balducci  scored 10. Abigail Hilton pulled down a personal-best 10 rebounds.

ABOUT SPALDING

Spalding is 9-7 overall and currently in sixth place in the SLIAC with a 4-4 record. The Golden Eagles trail Westminster by a half game for the fourth and final spot in next month's SLIAC Tournament. SU has dropped six of its last nine games, including a 66-30 loss at NAIA Campbellsville last Saturday.

Despite Saturday's lopsided defeat, Spalding has won three of its last four league contests, including road victories at Webster and MacMurray.

Sophomore guard Alex Martin and senior forward Maya Hardin are the Golden Eagles' top two scorers. Martin scores 12.8 on average, followed closely by Hardin with 11.9 per game. Hardin leads SU in rebounding with 6.6 boards per game.

SU is tough defensively, leading the nine-team SLIAC with 4.5 blocked shots per game in SLIAC action. The Golden Eagles also collect 40.6 rebounds per game, second-most among SLIAC schools in league competition.

The Golden Eagles joined the SLIAC prior to the 2009-10 season. SU won back-to-back SLIAC Tournament championships in 2014 and 2015 and won its first-ever regular-season crown during the 2014-15 campaign. Spalding entered the 2016-17 campaign with a .702 winning percentage between the SLIAC regular season and Tournament, the second-highest all-time mark in conference history.

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 and two years at NCAA Division I Kent State.

Charlie Just is in his 12th season as head coach at Spalding, owning a 169-142 overall record since his arrival in 2005. The 1977 Ohio Northern graduate won back-to-back SLIAC Coach of the Year awards in 2014 and again in 2015.

Just owns nearly four decades of coaching experience between the high school and collegiate levels and is nearing 700 overall victories. He owns previous collegiate experience at NCAA Division II Bellarmine, leading his squads to eight NCAA Tournaments and the 1994 Final Four.

SERIES VERSUS SPALDING

Eureka and Spalding have met 16 times since SU joined the SLIAC prior to the 2009-10 season. The Golden Eagles lead the series 11-5, including a 4-3 record at the Reagan Athletic Complex.

SU won six straight over the Red Devils from Jan. 9, 2014 through Dec. 5, 2015, including a an 80-50 victory in the 2015 SLIAC Tournament championship game in Louisville.

A victory on Thursday would give the Red Devils three straight wins over Spalding for the first time in the eight-season series.

LAST TIME VERSUS SPALDING

Hayley Reneau tallied a game-high 23 points and Michaela Balducci compiled a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds, leading Eureka to a 76-60 win at Spalding on Dec. 30, 2016.

The Red Devils snagged their first lead of the afternoon when Lexi Dooley scored inside on Eureka's first possession of the second quarter for a 21-20 lead. The two teams traded the lead eight times in the second period before EC used a late-quarter surge for a halftime lead. Eureka outscored SU 12-4 over the final 4:09 of the half, turning a four-point deficit into a 42-38 halftime lead.

EC blew the game open with a dominant third quarter. Balducci's layup at the 8:10 mark gave the visitors their first double-digit lead, 49-39. The Golden Eagles pushed back with three consecutive baskets from Alex Martin to trim their deficit to 51-45, but Reneau answered with a triple to ignite an 11-2 run to end the quarter.

The Eureka lead swelled to as many as 17 points in the final quarter. SU was unable to get closer than 12 points in the final 10 minutes.

Reneau went 9-for-17 from the floor and 5-for-9 from 3-point range. She also had six steals. Balducci went 9-for-13 for the day and collected 12 of her 13 rebounds on the defensive end. The Red Devils compiled 23 assists on the day, led by a game-high eight from Luci Weis. Kerrigan Dura finished the game with six assists.

FOLLOW THE ACTION ONLINE

A live video stream will be available at the Eureka athletics YouTube page. Live statistics will also be available at EurekaRedDevils.com and sliac.org

The Eureka College media relations staff will provide updates throughout the game via Twitter at @EurekaGameDay.