Blue Jays Nip Red Devils Late, 72-69
FULTON, Mo. – The Eureka women's basketball team put itself in position to pick up a road win in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday. It just didn't come together.
Momentum swung back and forth in the final couple of minutes at Westminster's Historic Gymnasium, and when it stopped, the Blue Jays snagged a 72-69 win away from the Red Devils.
Jurnee Flournoy (Decatur, Ill./Decatur MacArhur) knocked down a go-ahead 3-pointer that gave Eureka a 66-64 lead with 2:06 left.
Westminster's Shelby Kurtz answered with back-to-back buckets on the Blue Jays' next two possessions to regain the lead.
Eureka's Sydney Hannam came back and responded with a game-tying jumper. But, on the next possession, she stepped in front of a driving Carli Libhart on the left post and was called for a block and, subsequently, a technical.
Westminster missed the first pair of three throws, but it made the second to make it 70-68 with 30 seconds left. Eureka then sent Kurtz to the line twice, and she made 1 of 2, giving the home team a four-point advantage.
When Eureka's Madi Jernigan (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone/Blackburn) went to the line, she also made 1 of 2 to make it a three-point game with 15 seconds left.
The Red Devils got the ball back with a steal by Josie Ness (Sandwich, Ill./Sandwich) off a jump ball with 9.5 seconds left. From there, Eureka called timeout and set up a play, but Hannam wasn't able to get a clean shot off from behind the arc as time expired.
Despite the end result, Hannam continued to light it up, racking up a game-high 28 points on 11-for-19 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from distance. She has averaged 24.6 points per game over the past five games and has scored 20 or more six times this season. She also had three rebounds and two assists.
Shakaya Rogers (Hanover, Mich./Concord/Glen Oaks) tallied 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting and gathered a team-high eight boards.
Jernigan contributed nine points, seven boards, three assists and three steals. Abby Stotler (Wyoming, Ill./Stark County/MacMurray) added six points and four rebounds, and Flournoy had five points and six rebounds. Ness finished with five boards.
Eureka trailed by seven at halftime, then shot 68.8 percent from the floor and outscored the home team 23-19 in the third quarter to set up a compelling final frame.
The Red Devils recorded a 45.9 field-goal percentage on the day to Westminster's 36.7 percent. Westminster's largest lead of the game was nine and Eureka's was six.
After three straight close losses, Eureka (3-10, 0-2 SLIAC) will look to get over the hump on Wednesday at Blackburn (2-10, 0-2 SLIAC). Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.