Illinois College Pulls Away From Red Devils, 67-55

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Illinois College pulled away from the Eureka women's basketball team after an early Red Devil lead and handed the maroon and gold a 67-55 loss on Saturday.

Eureka junior forward Josie Ness (Sandwich, Ill./Sandwich) recorded her sixth double-double of the season, tallying 12 points and 11 rebounds. She was joined in the double-digits by freshmen Ashley Wilcox (Hudson, Ill./Normal West), who led the team in scoring with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal on the day.

Brin Hultz continues to be an impressive mid-season addition to the roster, contributing 8 points and 8 rebounds for EC. Makayla Rosenbery (Mahomet, Ill./Mahomet-Seymour) added 6 points and Avery Seidel (Wayne City, Ill./Wayne City/Lincoln Christian) chipped in 5.

The Red Devils got off to a strong start, leading 18-14 at the end of the first quarter. But, the Lady Blues came out firing in the second quarter, knocking down two big 3-point shots on their way to outscoring Eureka 24-10 in the period. EC continued to battle, but they could not overcome the deficit.

The Red Devils were better from beyond the arc (2nd best this season, 27.3%-20.8%) and behind the line (62.3%-46.2%) on the day, but the Lady Blues' defense proved too much to handle. The Blues forced 31 turnovers and converted 23 points off turnovers, compared to EC's 11 points off turnovers. This 12 point difference in transition would end up determining the result.

The Red Devils (4-7, 2-2 SLIAC) will look to regroup and return to conference play on Thursday with a road matchup at Lyon (7-3, 2-1 SLIAC).