Red Devils Fall Short in Overtime Against Monmouth, 59-54
EUREKA – The Eureka women's basketball team erased a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter against Monmouth on Wednesday, but the Red Devils ultimately fell short in overtime, 59-54.
The Red Devils opened the fourth with a 13-0 run. Madi Jernigan's (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone/Blackburn) 3-pointer from the left side of the top of the arc off an assist by Sydney Hannam (Canton, Ill./Canton/Spoon River) made it 40-39 with 4:38 remaining and prompted a Monmouth timeout.
On the next EC possession, freshman Reece Putrich (Farmington, Ill./Farmington Central) knocked down another 3 from near the same spot to give Eureka its first lead of the game.
Eureka led by as many as four following a Hannam layup off a feed inside by Jernigan in the last 2 1/2 minutes.
However, Monmouth's Jadyn Mitchell answered with a triple from the right elbow that made it a one-point game with a little over a minute to play in regulation. Eureka's Shakaya Rogers (Hanover, Mich./Concord/Glen Oaks) then got fouled and made 1 of 2 at the line. She got her own rebound after the miss, but Eureka was unable to capitalize.
Monmouth got the ball left with 19 seconds remaining, and Tarae Warner drove into the lane and scored to tie the game at 47-47 and ultimately send it to overtime.
In overtime, Eureka and Monmouth traded buckets for the first three minutes, but the Fighting Scots gained the advantage for good after Monmouth's Olivia Dinges made a go-ahead layup to make it 55-53, and EC was unable to answer on the next possession.
A Warner jumper extended the lead to four in the last minute. Hannam got to the line and made 1 of 2 to make it a one-possession game, but after missing four straight free throws, Mitchell hit the last two of the game in the last 10 seconds to end it.
Rogers finished with a team-high 15 points and added 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double. Hannam followed with 15 points and a team-high five assists.
Abby Stotler (Wyoming, Ill./Stark County/MacMurray) pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds, while Jernigan notched 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block. Putrich and Josie Ness (Sandwich, Ill./Sandwich) each had five rebounds off the bench.
Mitchell tallied a game-high 17 points for Monmouth. Warner added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Despite the loss, Eureka outrebounded Monmouth 52-49, notched two more assists (13-11) and had two fewer turnovers (22-24).
Wednesday was Eureka's first overtime game since the team came back from down 19 to beat Fontbonne on the road last season on Jan. 22, 2022.
The Red Devils (0-2) will next take on Beloit (1-2) on the road in non-conference play on Friday at 5 p.m.
