Red Devils Finish Season Sweep of Knox, 88-71

GALESBURG, Ill. -- Eureka College sophomore forward Lexi Dooley (Sutter, Ill./Warsaw H.S.) came off the bench to record 20 points and 11 rebounds for her first career double-double, helping the visiting Red Devils to an 88-71 non-conference victory at Knox, Saturday afternoon in Galesburg, Ill.

Saturday's victory comes just 11 days after Eureka's 86-69 win over the Prairie Fire at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena, giving EC a season series sweep of Knox. The decisions mark the first time the Red Devils have earned multiple victories over the Prairie Fire in the same season since the 2005-06 campaign.

After a first quarter that featured three lead changes and ended with a slim EC lead, the Red Devils put together a nice run midway through the second quarter to seize control of the contest. A basket from Dooley ignited a 10-2 EC run that ended with a triple from junior Hayley Reneau (Washington, Ill./Washington H.S./Illinois Central) for a 40-29 lead 4:02 remaining before halftime.

The visitors led by 11 on two more occasions before carrying a 47-37 lead into halftime.

Eureka's second-half lead never dipped below nine points. The lead was 66-53 after three quarters and swelled to as many as 22 points when Dooley connected to push the advantage to 86-64 with just 2:18 left. Dooley's basket put the exclamation point on a 12-3 burst that included back-to-back 3-pointers from freshman Kennedy Dura (Brimfield, Ill./Brimfield H.S.).

Dooley finished 8-for-15 from the field and grabbed seven of her 11 boards at the defensive end. Senior Michaela Balducci (Eureka, Ill./Eureka H.S.) scored 18 points on a 7-for-9 effort from the floor and Reneau finished with 16 points.

Eureka was credited with an assist on 28 of its 34 field goals. Luci Weis (Bloomington, Ill./Normal Community H.S.) and Kerrigan Dura (Brimfield, Ill./Brimfield H.S.) distributed six assists apiece and Reneau added five.

The Red Devils are now 27-11 against Knox since 1983 and have won six of the last seven in the series. EC has won three straight over KC in games played in Galesburg.

Eureka will have approximately 24 hours to prepare for Sunday's contest against NCAA Division I Bradley. Tip-off at Renaissance Coliseum in Peoria is scheduled for 5 p.m.