Red Devils Go For Sweep of Webster Wednesday

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EUREKA, Ill. -- The Eureka College women's basketball team will play its third consecutive game on Dave Darnall Court Wednesday when Webster visits for a 6 p.m. St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tip-off at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena. The Red Devils will be in search of their first season series sweep of Webster since the 2011-12 season.

ABOUT EUREKA

Eureka will play its third consecutive game on Dave Darnall Court Wednesday when Webster visits for a 6 p.m. St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tip-off at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena. The Red Devils will be in search of their first season series sweep of Webster since the 2011-12 season.

Junior guard Hayley Reneau scores a team-high 13.6 points per game, the third-highest average among SLIAC players. She is 42-for-109 from beyond the 3-point arc and her current percentage of .385 ranks third in single-season Eureka history among players to make at least one 3-pointer per game.

Additionally, Reneau's .385 clip from long range ranks fourth all-time at Eureka among players to make at least 30 3-point field goals. Wendy Schnaedeke is Eureka's most accurate 3-point shooter in program history, making 39.5 percent of her tries (45-for-114) from 1995 through 1999.

Senior forward Michaela Balducci adds 11.4 points per game and a team-high 7.3 rebonds per game. The Eureka native needs four more rebounds to reach 500 for her 76-game career.

Junior guard Kerrigan Dura gives the Red Devils three starters to average at least 10.1 points per game. Dura also has 90 assists this season, needing an additional 16 assists to crack Eureka's single-season top-10 list. Her 5.0 assists per game rank 26th among NCAA Division III players.

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

"OH SNAP": BALDUCCI'S LATE 3 SINKS SPALDING

Michaela Balducci broke a 63-63 tie with a 3-pointer with :01.2 seconds left, lifting the Red Devils to 66-63 victory over Spalding last Thursday night at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena.

After a Spalding turnover with 17 seconds left and the score tied at 63-63, Eureka took advantage of its chance to shoot for the win when Balducci connected from the right wing with :01.2 seconds left. Spalding was forced to go the length of the floor on the ensuing play in its effort to tie the game, but the inbound pass was deflected out of bounds, last touched by the visitors, securing the EC win.

Eureka controlled a large portion of Thursday's game, doubling up the Golden Eagles 20-10 after one quarter. The advantage swelled to 35-19 at halftime.

The Red Devils maintained their double-digit lead through the third period before the visitors quickly closed the gap in the fourth. Maya Hardin's free throws with 5:26 left triggered a 12-2 run that culminated with a 61-61 tie with 1:34 to go. Balducci's layup pushed the Red Devils back in front, 63-61, but Lelanda Matthews answered with 1:02 left for a 63-63 tie.

Balducci scored 16 to pace the hosts. She made both 3-pointers she attempted. Kerrigan Dura and Lexi Dooley scored nine apiece. Kennedy Dura logged nine assists.

HISTORIC START CONTINUES

Last Thursday's victory improved Eureka to 9-0 in the league. The Red Devils' nine-game league win streak is one win shy of Eureka's longest SLIAC win streak since joining the league. The previous 10-game win streak ran from Jan. 10, 2012 through Feb. 11, 2012.

Eureka's best SLIAC record in 10 previous seasons as a member of the conference was a 13-3 mark in 2011-12, good enough for a second-place finish behind league champion Westminster.  The Red Devils are in search of their first-ever regular-season team conference title in a women's sport since becoming a member of an NCAA Division III conference in 1996.

INSIDE THE WIN STREAK

Eureka has won seven straight games for the first time since earning 11 consecutive wins during the 2011-12 season.

During the current streak, Eureka has averaged 74.9 points per game, shot 42 percent from the floor, outscored its opponent by an average of 21.0 points per game and outrebounded the opposition by 4.0 boards per game. Opponents have distributed only 59 assists in the last seven outings while committing 141 turnovers.

ABOUT WEBSTER

The Gorloks will bring a 14-5 overall record into Wednesday's game. WU is 6-4 in the SLIAC and currently owns sole possession of fourth place in the conference standings, one game ahead of Spalding and Westminster for the final spot in the upcoming SLIAC Tournament.

Junior guard Kelsey Miller leads WU with 12.2 points per game thanks to a .506 season field goal percentage. She is also an 87 percent free throw shooter. Jade Sawyer, who has come off the bench in 15 of the Gorloks' 19 games, is next on the scoring list with 9.2 points per game.

Taylor Lucas adds 8.8 points per contest and ranks second among WU forwards with a 4.5 rebounding average. Aley Lucas hauls down a team-high 4.6 boards per game.

Webster boasts the SLIAC's top scoring offense, leading the nine-team league in points per game (78.5) and field goals per game (28.4). WU is also tough defensively, compiling a league-high 17.9 steals per game.

The Gorloks were picked fifth in the SLIAC in a preseason coaches' poll. Webster has missed the SLIAC Tournament each of the last two seasons after qualifying for five straight league tournaments from 2010 through 2014, including the 2011 tournament crown.

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.

Jefferson City, Mo. native Jordan Olufson is in his ninth season as the head coach at Webster.  Olufson guided the Gorloks to a SLIAC Tournament title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2011. His nine-year record at WU is 125-103, including a 12-7 mark against Eureka. He is the program's all-time winningest coach.

Olufson came to Webster after a stint as an assistant coach at Central Missouri.  He played collegiately for Missouri Valley and Ashford before earning an undergraduate degree in sports and recreation management from AU in 2006 and a master's degree from Central Missouri.

SERIES VERSUS WEBSTER

Eureka and Webster have split their last 10 matchups, but Webster owns the all-time series lead, 15-12. The Red Devils have won three in a row over WU at home and lead the series at the Reagan Athletic Complex, 7-5.

Webster is 13-10 in the SLIAC series. In addition to the annual home-and-home series, Webster eliminated the Red Devils in the SLIAC Tournament semifinals in 2013 and again in 2014.

Prior to Eureka joining the SLIAC in 2006, Eureka and Webster split four non-conference meetings between 1989 and 2000. The Red Devils won the first-ever meeting in the series, an 80-29 decision during the 1989-90 season.

LAST TIME VERSUS WEBSTER

Eureka seized sole possession of first place in the early SLIAC standings on Dec. 17, earning its third consecutive league win on the road in a 75-66 triumph at Webster in St. Louis, Mo.

A 9-1 run from the visitors midway through the first quarter helped the Red Devils grab an early 13-6 lead. Eureka would hold the lead for the remainder of the first quarter, but WU recovered to regain the advantage when Kelsey Miller's 3-pointer pushed the Gorloks to a 23-21 lead. It would be Webster's largest advantage of the day.

The Red Devils punched back with five consecutive points and wouldn't trail again. Michaela Balducci gave the visitors their largest advantage of the first 20 minutes with a basket for a 41-33 lead in the final minute before halftime. The Red Devils led at the break, 41-35.

Webster pulled within two points just 65 seconds into the third quarter, but Eureka responded with eight unanswered points to secure a double-digit cushion. EC led 56-51 after three quarters.

WU slowly chipped away at its deficit early in the fourth, clawing to within 61-59 with 6:55 to play, but the visitors eventually extended their lead back to 10 (70-60) with 2:08 left. WU wouldn't be able to get closer than six points the rest of the way.

Five Red Devils scored at least 10 points, led by 16 apiece from Dura and Lexi Dooley. Dooley added a game-high 11 rebounds for the afternoon's only double-double. Dura scored 10 of her 16 points from the foul line and narrowly missed a then-career high with eight assists.

Eureka dominated the Gorloks on the glass for a 44-25 rebounding advantage. The game featured 12 lead changes, all in the first half.

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.