Red Devils Honor Three Seniors Ahead of Loss to Blue Jays
EUREKA, IL. – The Eureka women's basketball team couldn't put away Westminster (MO.) on Saturday, falling 72-54.
Before announcing the starting lineups, Eureka celebrated three seniors that have invested greatly in the basketball program during their time as student-athletes at EC. Ariel Chism and Makayla Rosenbery were honored alongside Avery Seidel, who graduated in December but returned to campus for the occasion.
The heartwarming pregame festivities fueled a hot start for the Red Devils, as they jumped out to an early lead. At the end of the first quarter, the Red Devils led the visitors 20-11. The Blue Jays battled back though, heading into halftime up 30-27. After struggling to ever get it going again in the 3rd quarter, Eureka fell behind. The Red Devils were able to finish the game with an even 4th period, where each team tallied 12 points, but could not recover from a challenging 3rd quarter.
Freshman Ashley Wilcox (Hudson, Ill./Normal West) led the Red Devils' attack. Wilcox finished with a team-high 13 points, going 4-for-8 from the field. Junior forward Josie Ness (Sandwich, Ill./Sandwich) led the team's efforts off the glass, tallying a team-high 11 boards and adding 6 points to the Red Devil total.
Brin Hultz (Quincy, Ill./Travecca Nazarene) joined Wilcox in the double digits, contributing 12 points. Lainey Moore (Sullivan, Ill./Sullivan) supplied another 9 points off the bench. Seniors Ariel Chism (Pekin, Ill./Pekin) and Makayla Rosenbery (Mahomet, Ill./Mahomet-Seymour) added 4 points apiece in their last game inside of the Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena and Convocation Center.
Westminster's Caragan Lockard had a massive night off the bench for the visiting team, posting a double-double, consisting of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Lockard led the team in both categories. Annette Ramirez and Chloe Akerson joined Lockard in the double figures. Ramirez tallied 12 points and Akerson notched 11.
On Wednesday, Eureka (5-18, 3-13 SLIAC) will travel to Greenville (14-9, 11-5 SLIAC) for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff.