Eureka Ready to Take Another Shot at Outright SLIAC Title

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EUREKA, Ill. -- The Eureka College women's basketball team will take its second shot at an outright St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season championship Wednesday afternoon when the Red Devils host Westminster at 3 p.m. inside Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena.

SLIAC TOURNAMENT FIELD IS SET -- IN EUREKA

While Eureka still needs at least one more win to secure the outright SLIAC regular-season title, the Red Devils have already clinched the right to host the four-team SLIAC Tournament scheduled to begin on Thursday, Feb. 23 at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena. It will be the first women's basketball conference tournament game on the campus of Eureka College since Feb. 23, 2005.

Eureka and Greenville have clinched the first and second seeds, respectively, while Fontbonne and Webster have also locked up tournament bids. Eureka will face the fourth seed on Feb. 23 at 8 p.m., while second-seeded Greenville will play the third seed Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. The semifinal winners will square off for the tournament title and a bid to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena.

ABOUT EUREKA

Eureka owns a 16-7 record and a 12-2 mark in conference action. The first-place Red Devils saw their six-game home win streak come to an end Saturday. Victories in the Red Devils' final two regular-season games would give them at least 10 wins in a season at the Reagan Athletic Complex for the third time since 2005-06 and the ninth time in 42 seasons at the facility.

Only two Red Devils score in double figures on average -- junior guard Hayley Reneau (13.9) and senior forward Michaela Balducci (11.7). Eureka relies on its scoring balance, scoring 72.7 points per game to ranks second in the SLIAC and 45th nationally. Six different players have led EC in scoring in a game this season the Red Devils have won.

The Red Devils lead the SLIAC in 3-pointers per game (8.0), defensive rebounds per game (29.2), total rebounds per game (41.9), field goal percentage defense (.351) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.243). Additionally, Eureka's 409 total assists rank second in the SLIAC and 11th in NCAA Division III.

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

HAYLEY RENEAU NAMED SLIAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Junior guard Hayley Reneau became the fourth Red Devil to be named SLIAC Player of the Week in 2016-17, according to the league's weekly award announcement on Monday afternoon. Reneau averaged 22.3 points in three league games last week, including a 28-point effort in Wednesday's win over MacMurray.

Reneau shot 56 percent (27-for-48) from the field for the week, including an 8-for-19 effort from 3-point range. She hauled down 14 rebounds, recorded 11 steals, blocked six shots and committed only three turnovers in 86 minutes of action.

For the season, Reneau leads EC with 13.9 points per game and has made 52 3-pointers, tied for sixth-most in single-season Eureka history. She also appears on Eureka's single-season lists with 68 steals (10th) and 34 blocked shots (10th).

DURA MATCHES EUREKA FRESHMAN RECORD

Eureka freshman Kennedy Dura tied an EC program record on Saturday. Dura's assist on a Lexi Dooley's basket with 9:02 left in the fourth quarter versus Greenville was her 81st assist of the season, tying Sarah Deakin's 2002-03 assist total for the most by a freshman since the statistic was tracked at Eureka beginning in 1988.

Additionally, Dura is on pace to become the first freshman to start all 25 regular-season games since Lisa Byard in 2008-09.

RED DEVILS CAN'T CLOSE OUT GREENVILLE SATURDAY

In front of a near-capacity crowd for Alumni Day at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena on Saturday, Greenville kept its hopes alive to earn a share of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title with a 66-64 league win over the Eureka College women's basketball team.

Greenville and Eureka played to nine ties and 12 lead changes Saturday. Kelly Lenz made two free throws to break a 29-29 tie with 2:30 left in the first half, as both sides were scoreless over the remainder of the frame for a 31-29 GC lead at the break.

GC opened the second half with a 10-4 surge, claiming its biggest advantage of the game on Lenz's layup for a 41-33 cushion. Eureka quickly responded with an 8-0 run and pulled even, 41-41, on Reneau's jumper with 4:28 left in the quarter. GC regained a 50-47 lead after three quarters.

The Red Devils managed to pull even as late as the 2:44 mark of the final quarter when Michaela Balducci split two free throws for a 62-62 tie. Greenville's Laura Goodnight answered with a 3-pointer to lead 65-62 with 1:56 left and the Panthers wouldn't trail again.

A Reneau layup sliced the EC deficit to 65-64 with nine seconds left. GC went on split two free throws to push its lead to two, but Eureka couldn't beat the horn on the ensuing possession in its attempt to win the game.

ABOUT WESTMINSTER

Westminster is 9-14 overall, 7-8 in the SLIAC and will play its final game of the 2016-17 season on Wednesday in Eureka. The Blue Jays' 65-53 loss at Iowa Wesleyan last Saturday ended their hopes for a SLIAC Tournament bid, snapping WC's streak of eight consecutive league postseason appearances.

Senior guard Andrea Zalis leads the Blue Jays in scoring (17.5 PPG) and rebounding (8.5 RPG). Sophomore forward Mirrakohl Johnson also pours in 10.5 points per game and collects 8.0 rebounds per game.

After failing to win a regular season or tournament championship in their first 20 seasons as a charter member of the SLIAC, the Blue Jays have recently become one of the premier women's basketball programs in the league. Westminster has won the outright regular-season crown in four of the last six seasons, including three in a row from 2011 through 2013 as well as last season's title. WC won back-to-back SLIAC Tournament championships in 2012 and 2013.

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.

Four-time SLIAC Coach of the Year Tracey Braden is in her 10th season at Westminster. The Central Missouri State graduate, who owns a 155-99 record in Fulton, has guided the Blue Jays to four SLIAC regular-season championships and to the 2012 and 2013 SLIAC Tournament crowns.

Braden began her collegiate playing career at Central Methodist College in 1984. She transferred to Central Missouri State and was a member of three teams that captured conference championships and qualified for three NCAA Division II national tournaments.

Like her Wednesday counterpart Steve Thompson, Braden also serves as her institution's Director of Athletics.

SERIES VERSUS WESTMINSTER

Westminster leads the all-time series with Eureka, 22-6, including a 9-3 advantage at the Reagan Athletic Complex.

The Red Devils and Blue Jays have met in the SLIAC Tournament in each of the last two seasons and in three of the last five seasons. WC defeated the Red Devils in the 2012 SLIAC Tournament title game, 60-54. Eureka evened the postseason series in the 2015 semifinal, defeating the Blue Jays 71-58 in Louisville, Ky., but Westminster returned the favor in last season's tournament semifinal with a 71-64 win in Fulton.

LAST TIME VERSUS WESTMINSTER

Hayley Reneau scored 22 points and seniors Michaela Balducci and Luci Weis tacked on 15 apiece, helping the Red Devils clinch a berth in the 2017 SLIAC Tournament with a 75-47 league win at Westminster on Feb. 6 in Fulton, Mo.

Eureka defeated Westminster in Fulton for just the second time in 15 tries since Jan. 10, 2000. The 28-point margin of victory was Eureka's largest in 28 all-time meetings with Westminster.

Eureka broke the game open in the third quarter, pushing its lead to 20 when Reneau scored for a 50-30 lead at the 4:08 mark. The Red Devils extended their lead throughout the fourth quarter and the final 28-point margin was Eureka's largest lead of the afternoon.

Eureka shot 53 percent for the game and matched a season-low by committing only 11 turnovers. The Red Devils also crushed the Blue Jays inside, outscoring WC in the paint, 35-14.

The hosts shot just 26 percent (14-for-55) and made only one of their 22 3-point field goal attempts.

FOLLOW THE ACTION ONLINE

Links to a live video stream and live statistics be available at EurekaRedDevils.com and sliac.org.

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