EC Women Fall Short to Fontbonne, 59-49

EUREKA — The Eureka women's basketball team made a run at Fontbonne on Wednesday, but it ultimately dropped a 59-49 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena.

Olivia Falls (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomingon), the reigning SLIAC Player of the Week, notched 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting for the Red Devils and pulled down 11 rebounds.

Ashley Harfst (Saunemin, Ill./Pontiac) followed with 16 points on 5-of-14 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers and seven rebounds.

Whitney Bozarth (Normal, Ill./Normal West) and Marissa Murphy (Canton, Ill./Canton) had five points apiece.

The Red Devils had a tough go offensively, shooting 30 percent on the night compared to the Griffins' 45.3. Fontbonne hit nine 3-pointers and outrebounded EC 40-34.

EC's best stretch came in the middle of the game. After trailing 20-9 in the first quarter, EC closed the gap by outscoring the Griffins 14-3 in the second frame.

The home team briefly held a six-point lead with 3:11 left in the third quarter, but the visitors closed the quarter on a 10-0 run to take a four-point edge into the fourth.

That was where the Griffins found separation, outscoring EC 16-10 to close it out.

The Red Devils are now 9-6 in the SLIAC and 13-9 overall.

They'll head to Spalding to take on the Golden Eagles.