Red Devils Deliver Arbogast’s First Win at Rockford, 85-62

ROCKFORD, Ill. – Eureka College junior forward Sabrina Clay (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg H.S./Carl Sandburg) earned her first double-double in an EC uniform with 18 points and 13 rebounds and senior guard Hayley Reneau (Washington, Ill./Washington H.S./Illinois Central) led all scorers with 21 points in the Red Devils' 85-62 non-conference win at Rockford, Saturday afternoon at the Seaver Center. The decision marked first-year head coach Amos Arbogast's first career head coaching victory.

Eureka scored the first six points of the afternoon, held Rockford scoreless for more than three minutes to begin the game and never trailed in its victory. Samantha Sarnes (Havana, Ill./Havana H.S.) hit a 3-pointer at the 4:40 mark of the first quarter to give the visitors their first double-digit lead, 15-5. A Lexi Dooley (Sutter, Ill./Warsaw H.S.) free throw gave EC its biggest lead of the first 10 minutes, 24-10.

The Red Devils would lead by double digits the rest of the period. The 46-30 halftime lead was its largest of the half.

The Regents opened the second half with a 9-2 burst and clawed within nine, 48-39, on Casey Pettit's 3-pointer. Sarnes answered with a triple less than a minute later and the EC advantage reached 20 when Ashley Harfst (Saunemin, Ill./Pontiac H.S.) scored inside for a 59-39 lead with 2:24 to play in the third quarter. Eureka led 65-46 at the end of the quarter.

Clay was one of three Red Devils to have at least 13 rebounds Saturday. Dooley led all players with 14 boards and Kerrigan Dura (Edwards, Ill./Brimfield H.S.) set a new career high with 13 rebounds, seven of which were at the offensive end of the floor. Harfst poured in a career-high 17 points off the bench and Kennedy Dura (Edwards, Ill./Brimfield H.S.) tallied seven assists.

Reneau went 7-for-10 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. She also logged four of the Red Devils' 14 steals. Eureka held a decisive 58-31 rebounding advantage, outscored the hosts in the paint 34-16 and held a 20-2 advantage on second-chance points. Saturday's win snapped an eight-game road losing streak versus Rockford that dated back to Jan. 31, 1998.

Neve Yerk came off the bench to lead the Regents with 12 points. Rockford shot 33 percent overall and 6-for-30 from 3-point range.

Eureka will turn its attention to the home opener scheduled for this Tuesday against Monmouth at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.