Eureka Pulls Away From Iowa Wesleyan Late, 73-56

Eureka Pulls Away From Iowa Wesleyan Late, 73-56

MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa — For the first three quarters, the Eureka women's offense was hit-or-miss. 

But in the final 10 minutes, the Red Devils found their rhythm and pulled away from Iowa Wesleyan for a 73-56 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win on the road Wednesday night.

Clinging to a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, the maroon and gold racked up 28 points while shooting 61.5 percent from the field to seal the win. 

Senior Samantha Sarnes (Havana, Ill./Havana) scored 12 of her team-high 21 points in the fourth. She sank 8 of 9 free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter and made 9 of 10 from the stripe on the night. 

Freshman Olivia Falls (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) shot 7 of 9 from the floor and notched a career-high 16 points, along with five rebounds and three steals. Fellow freshman Josie Morgan (Washington, Ill./Washington) added 15 points and hit three of the team's five 3-pointers.

Junior Kennedy Dura (Edwards, Ill./Brimfield) recorded 10 points, seven assists, four steals and three blocks, and fellow junior Ashley Harfst (Saunemin, Ill./Pontiac) had 10 rebounds to go with nine points. 

Everyone contributed to the strong finish.

Sarnes' ability to get to the line and convert in the first three minutes gave the Red Devils a little bit of breathing room. Then, with 7:20 left, they seized the momentum for good when Morgan gathered a defensive rebound, came up the court with a head full of steam and found Falls down low to extend the lead to nine.

With 5:27 left, a pair of Sarnes free throws extended the lead to 11 for the first time. IW's Deericka Martin answered with a jumper, but Dura's second triple of the night on the next possession stretched it to 12.

EC proceeded to push it out in transition, attack the basket, get to the free-throw line and put away open jumpers the rest of the way.

As a team, the Red Devils were 16-of-18 from the stripe and put up 12 fastbreak points to the Tigers' zero.

Darby Massner and Martin tallied 14 and 11 points for Iowa Wesleyan, respectively.