Red Devils Stumble in League Opener at Greenville, 82-57

GREENVILLE, Ill. – Samantha Sarnes (Havana, Ill./Havana H.S.) scored 15 points and Lexi Dooley (Sutter, Ill./Warsaw H.S.) gathered 10 rebounds, but Eureka dropped its St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener Wednesday night in an 82-57 setback versus reigning league champion Greenville.

Olivia Falls (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington H.S.) pumped in 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting and pulled down six boards. Ashley Harfst (Saunemin, Ill./Pontiac H.S.) chipped in with 10 points and Kennedy Dura (Edwards, Ill./Brimfield H.S.) finished the bout with four steals at the defensive end.

Eureka never led Wednesday's contest. GU led 22-14 after one period. Josie Morgan (Washington, Ill./Washington H.S.) triggered an 8-0 EC burst with a bucket at the 3:42 mark of the second quarter and Sarnes ended the run with a triple for the visitors to trail 39-32, but the Panthers answered by scoring the final six points of the half to take a 45-32 lead into the locker room.

EC kept its deficit at 13 as late as the 4:54 mark of the third quarter, but ultimately trailed 67-45 after 30 minutes.

Jantzen Michael scored a game-high 17 points for the Panthers. GU made 12 3-pointers and outrebounded Eureka 44-31.

The Red Devils will take their longest conference road trip of the season this Saturday in a noon CT start at Spalding in Louisville, Ky.