Eureka Pushes Past Spalding for Second SLIAC Win, 81-73
EUREKA – The Eureka women's basketball team pushed past Spalding in an 81-73 thriller at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena and Convocation Center on Saturday.
It was the team's second straight St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory of the week, and it moved the Red Devils to 2-2 in league play.
After dropping 43 points at Blackburn on Wednesday, Eureka's Sydney Hannam (Canton, Ill./Canton/Spoon River) picked up where she left off. The sharpshooting senior tallied 29 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. She made 12 of 13 at the free-throw line and drained 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.
She could hardly miss in the first half, scoring 20 points while going 5-for-6 from the field and 8-for-9 from the free-throw line.
Shakaya Rogers (Hanover, Mich./Concord/Glen Oaks) also had a big game, posting a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds, along with six assists and two steals. It was her second double-double of the season.
Madi Jernigan (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone/Blackburn) added 13 points, six rebounds and a steal, while Savanah Moore (Clinton, Ill./Mount Pulaski/MacMurray) and Abby Stotler (Wyoming, Ill./Stark County/MacMurray) chipped in with eight and six points, respectively.
Spalding got off to a hot start and led by as many as nine midway through the first quarter, but the Red Devils adjusted and responded accordingly. They caught up by the end of the first quarter. A late 3-pointer by Spalding's Kailey Reed gave the Golden Eagles a three-point edge heading into the second.
By the end of the game, there had been 18 ties and 18 lead changes.
The Red Devils tied the game in the second quarter with an and-one layup by Hannam less than two minutes into the second quarter, took the lead with a Hannam triple 25 seconds later and extended it to six with another Hannam trey on the possession after that.
Eureka led the rest of the quarter and took a 37-33 advantage into halftime.
The Golden Eagles opened the half by scoring eight of the first 12 points to close the gap, and the rest of the quarter was a back-and-forth affair.
Eureka had a two-point advantage after 30 minutes of play. Spalding struck the first blow in the final frame with a go-ahead 3-point play by Reed.
The Red Devils then responded with back-to-back layups by Stotler and Rogers to regain the lead and make it a three-point game. A free throw by Moore made it a two-possession game with 7:42 left, but Reed got to the line again and made two more free throws to make it 64-62.
The maroon and gold then came up with a five-point swing that looked like it could be the turning point of the game. Rogers drove to the basket for a layup. Then, after a missed Spalding layup on the other end, Jernigan knocked down an open 3-pointer to give Eureka a seven-point cushion.
A few possessions later, however, the game came to a 20-minute standstill when Spalding freshman Alyssa Hitch suffered an unfortunate and scary injury during a scrum for a loose ball. Hitch eventually exited the arena to receive medical attention, and the game resumed.
Spalding came within three in the last four minutes, but the Red Devils finished strong down the stretch to clinch the win.
Spalding's Jacie Chesser finished with a team-high 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting. Reed recorded 16 points and five rebounds, and Natalie Fichter had 10 points and six rebounds.
Eureka (5-10, 2-2 SLIAC) will next host Webster (13-2, 3-1 SLIAC) at The Reagan on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
