Griffins Outlast Red Devils, 90-68
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Eureka women's basketball team had its moments on Saturday, but it couldn't keep pace with Fontbonne, falling 90-68.
Playing with a short rotation due to injuries, the Red Devils showed up ready to play and produced a strong first quarter. The maroon and gold shot 66.7 percent from the field, made 3-of-5 3-point attempts and took a 23-19 lead into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, though, the Griffins came alive and racked up 28 points to take control of the game.
The home team led by 12 at halftime, but it struggled to extend it in the third frame. Eureka outscored Fontbonne 19-18. A pair of late 3-pointers by seniors Madi Jernigan (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone/Blackburn) and Sydney Hannam (Canton, Ill./Canton/Spoon River) moved the Red Devils back within single digits at 62-54 with 46 ticks left in the third.
Fontbonne's Haley Buscher answered with a steal and a 3 to make it an 11-point game before the end of the quarter.
The Griffins shot 60 percent and outscored EC by 11 in the fourth quarter to finally pull away from the Red Devils.
Hannam, who leads the SLIAC in scoring, finished with a team-high 20 points, tallying her ninth straight 20-point game and her 10th of the season. She shot 8-for-14 from the field, made 3 of 5 3-point tries and had three assists.
She was one of four Red Devils to reach double figures. Shakaya Rogers (Hanover, Mich/Concord/Glen Oaks) followed with 16 points, a team-high six assists and five rebounds.
Jernigan tallied a career-high 15 points, made a pair of 3s and grabbed eight rebounds. Abby Stotler (Wyoming, Ill./Stark County/MacMurray) notched her first double-double of the season, recording 13 points and 10 boards.
Fontbonne freshman Madison Nelson led the Griffins with a career-high 32 points on 13-for-17 shooting from the field. Ja'Mise Bailey contributed 17 points, while Mallory Ronshausen and Kourtney White added 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Eureka will be back in action on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. when the Red Devils (5-12, 2-4 SLIAC) face Principia 9-5, 4-2 SLIAC ) on the road.