EC Women Looking to Close Season Strong
EUREKA — The 2019-20 season is winding down for the Eureka women's basketball team.
On Wednesday, the Red Devils will head on the road to take on St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference leader Webster at 5:30 p.m.
Then, on Saturday, they'll celebrate Senior Day with a home showdown against Greenville.
PDF VERSION OF 2/18/20 NOTEBOOK
ABOUT EUREKA
The Red Devils enter the final week of the regular season with a 13-10 record on the season and a 9-7 mark in conference play.
They're coming off back-to-back losses against second-place Fontbonne and Spalding, and are looking to rebound with a pair of strong performances to close it out.
Last week, Eureka played Fontbonne close until the Griffins took control down the stretch and clinched a 10-point win.
Olivia Falls notched 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Ashley Harfst added 16.
On Saturday, a trio of Red Devils hit double figures —Whitney Bozarth (14 points), Harfst (13) and Jadyn Mitchell (11) — as EC fell at Spalding.
Falls is the team's leading scorer at 15.5 points per game while shooting a league-best 58.7 percent from the floor. Harfst follows at 14.1, while Mitchell, Ja'Keesha Hawkins and Bozarth contribute 11.8, 10.9 and 10, respectively.
No one in the league has put away as many free throws as Harfst (113 of 130) and Falls (107 of 141), and almost no one has gathered as many rebounds. Harfst and Falls are second and third in the league with 10.8 and 10.3 boards per game, respectively.
Kennedy Dura leads the league with 100 assists. Marissa Murphy and Hawkins are second and third in the league in steals with 61 and 53, respectively.
Four-year seniors Harfst and Dura have left their marks in the EC record books.
Dura leads the program in assists with 475, and is sixth in 3-point field goals (131) and blocked shots (74). Heading into the week, Harfst is ninth in program history in career points with 1,112 and 3-point field goals (103), seventh in rebounds (675) and fourth in career free throws (355).
ABOUT WEBSTER
The Gorloks are still sitting at the top of the conference, holding a 16-7 record on the season and a 14-2 mark in league play. They're now in position to clinch their first outright SLIAC title since 2002 with a pair of wins this week.
They have won three straight since falling to Fontbonne, 67-58, on Feb. 6. That was their first conference loss since Spalding got the best of them, 89-82, on Dec. 5.
Most recently, Webster took care of Blackburn on Saturday, 99-68. Julie Baudendistel racked up a career-high 27 points while Jaysea Morgan followed with 24. The team shot 53.6 percent from the field, 55.6 percent from distance (while making 10 3s) and went 15-of-15 at the line.
Addison Beussink is the team's leading scorer and rebounder with 13.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Jaysea Morgan is right behind her with 12.9 points, and Naomi Johnson and Baudendistel add 11.2 and 10.2 points, respectively.
Jonson leads the SLIAC in 3-point percentage at 47.6. Morgan is third in free-throw percentage (87 percent), while Johnson (51.8) and Morgan (51.7) are fourth and fifth respectively in field-goal percentage.
Morgan also leads the league with 65 steals.
As a team, Webster leads the SLIAC in scoring (79 points per game), field-goal percentage (46 percent), 3-point percentage (37.6), assists (20.1) and steals (14.3).
The Gorloks hold a 17-13 lead over the Red Devils in the all-time series, have won nine of 13 on their home floor and are 5-5 in their last 10.
ABOUT GREENVILLE
Heading into Wednesday's slate of games, the Greenville women are in position to make it to the SLIAC Tournament.
The Panthers are tied for third in the league with Spalding with an 11-5 record. They're a game ahead of Westminster (10-6), two games behind Fontbonne (13-3) and three games behind Webster (14-2).
They also coming off three straight wins over MacMurray, Iowa Wesleyan and Principia after losing three straight to Webster, Fontbonne and Spalding.
The team last time Greenville played Eureka, the Panthers cruised to an 80-55 victory. Five players scored between 15 and 10 points, and the team shot 46.2 percent from the field while hitting 14 triples.
Freshmen Emily Reinneck and Madelyn Stephen lead the team in scoring with 11.8 points per game, along with senior Hannah Krukewitt, who averages 11 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds. Brittany Lopez and Lauren Eagleson dish 3.8 assists per game.
The Panthers average 75 points per game (fourth in the conference) while shooting 40.9 percent from the field (third in conference). They lead the league in free-throw percentage (75.8), assists (20.1) and offensive rebounds (14.7).
The Red Devils lead the all-time series 35-24, but the Panthers have a 15-13 edge since EC joined the SLIAC.