Spalding Outlasts Red Devils, 78-59

EUREKA — The Eureka women came within four points with 10 minutes to play against St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe Spalding on Wednesday night.

But they went cold at the wrong time, shooting 3-of-16 from the field the rest of the way while the Golden Eagles cruised to a 78-59 win at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Area and Convocation Center.

Eureka junior Ashley Harfst (Saunemin, Ill./Pontiac) recorded a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds, fellow junior Kennedy Dura (Edwards, Ill./Brimfield) added 12 points, five assists and four rebounds and senior Ja'Keesha Hawkins (Peoria, Ill./Peoria) provided 10 points off the bench.

For Spalding, Allison Just and Alex Martin both put up 16 points, and Maleah Hirn added 15.

The Red Devils fell to 3-6 in the SLIAC and 8-9 on the season, while the Golden Eagles improved to 7-2 and 12-6.

EC trailed the visitors by 10 at the half after leading by as many as eight in the first quarter.

In the third quarter, EC freshman Josie Morgan (Washington, Ill./Washington), Hawkins and Harfst all drilled 3s as the Red Devils began to narrow the gap. Dura found Hawkins down low on a fast break to cut it to six with 2:25 left, and a final Hawkins 3 made it 52-48 before the final frame.

The Red Devils shot 4-for-7 from beyond the arc in the third quarter, but went 1-12 from oustside in the last 10 minutes.

Spalding closed out the win by shooting 8-for-17 from the field and 9-for-10 the line in the fourth quarter.