Red Devils Deliver on Senior Night, Down Principia, 84-66
EUREKA – The Eureka women's basketball team successfully harnessed the emotion and energy of Senior Night on Tuesday, and came away with a resounding, 84-66 victory over Principia.
The Red Devils trounced a tough Panthers squad that previously beat them by 18 in Elsah last month, leading by as many as 30 points in the second half.
The team put on a show for the Red Devil faithful and secured a critical win with one game left in the regular season.
"We definitely just knew we had to bring it," said Eureka senior Savanah Moore (Clinton, Ill./Mount Pulaski/MacMurray).
Six Red Devils finished in double figures, including all five senior starters who were honored before the game, along with student assistant coaches Rhys Pepino and Richard Bolden.
Senior Shakaya Rogers (Hanover, Mich./Concord/Glen Oaks) notched a team-high 15 points while shooting 7-for-8 from the field, grabbing a team-high seven rebounds and dishing a team-high five assists.
Seniors and former MacMurray transfers Moore and Abby Stotler (Wyoming, Ill./Stark County/MacMurray) both recorded 12 points while combining for 11 rebounds.
Senior Madi Jernigan (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone/Blackburn) contributed 11 points, a team-high five assists, three rebounds and hit a pair of 3-pointers. Freshman Reece Putrich (Farmington, Ill./Farmington Central) also had 11 points, with nine coming from beyond the arc.
Sydney Hannam (Canton, Ill./Canton/Spoon River) notched 10 points and three assists.
The Red Devils shot 46.2 percent on the night – the team's third-best field-goal percentage of the conference season. They hit nine 3-pointers – the second-most they have during conference season. And they shot a season-best 83.3 percent from the free-throw line.
The team distributed 16 assists, scored 28 points off turnovers and put 38 points in the paint.
"I think we all just played together," Moore added. "We came out from the start, pushed the ball, hit some shots and did what we had to do to win the game."
Eureka got off to a strong start in the first quarter and only built off it in the second. The Red Devils went into halftime leading by 16, and unlike other recent games, the team didn't fade or drop off at all in the third quarter.
Eureka only picked up steam in the third, tallying 25 more points. Jernigan kicked off the final frame by knocking down a 3-pointer off an assist by Hannam that made it 74-44.
"We really talked about it at halftime," Hannam said. "Just to focus and come out and play like we were in the first and second quarters. Everyone was scoring tonight. Everyone was producing."
Hannam said that it was an emotional night for the team -- and a big opportunity to deliver with the pressure on.
Heading into Tuesday, Eureka was tied with Spalding for the sixth and final playoff spot. The Red Devils now have a 1/2 game advantage in the standings, and they will take on the Golden Eagles in the final game of the regular season on Saturday in Louisville at 12 p.m. CT.
"I think that contributed a lot to our energy in the game, but we didn't let it get the best of us," Hannam said. "I think pulling out the win for our last home game will carry on the rest of the season."
