Eureka Thumps Fontbonne at Senior Day, 78-50
EUREKA, Ill. – Eureka College senior guards Kerrigan Dura (Edwards, Ill./Brimfield H.S.) and Hayley Reneau (Washington, Ill./Washington H.S./Illinois Central) closed out their home careers in style Saturday afternoon, lifting the Red Devils to a 78-50 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rout of Fontbonne at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena.
The Red Devils finish the regular season with an 18-7 overall record and 13-3 SLIAC mark. EC's win on Saturday clinched the second seed in next week's SLIAC Tournament and the Red Devils will play third-seeded Webster in Friday's 6 p.m. semifinal in Greenville, Ill. Regular-season champion and top-seeded Greenville will host fourth-seeded Westminster in the 8 p.m. semifinal. The semifinal winners will meet Saturday at 7 p.m. in Greenville for the tournament crown. Eureka won its first-ever SLIAC Tournament last season.
Eureka didn't make its first field goal Saturday until the 6:12 mark of the first period, but Fontbonne also struggled early. Lexi Dooley (Sutter, Ill./Warsaw H.S.) scored in the paint with 4:35 left in the first quarter, finally triggering Eureka's 14-4 surge to end the period. The EC lead was 18-9 at the end of the frame.
The visitors slashed their deficit back to three, 20-17, in the first two minutes of the second period, but EC closed the half with another big run. Kennedy Dura (Edwards, Ill./Brimfield H.S.) connected from 3-point range to ignite a 16-7 barrage from the hosts. Dooley's jumper in the final minute allowed Eureka to carry a 36-24 lead into the locker room.
The Red Devils put the game further out of reach in the third quarter. Fontbonne went scoreless for a stretch of 5-minutes, 45-seconds at one point during the frame, allowing the Red Devils to turn an 11-point cushion into a comfortable 55-34 lead at the third-quarter horn. EC's advantage swelled to as many as 30 in the final quarter when Kerrigan Dura's layup made the score 70-40 with 5:07 left.
Kerrigan Dura finished with a double-double – 19 points and 12 rebounds. Dooley also produced a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Samantha Sarnes (Havana, Ill./Havana H.S.) pumped in a game-high 20 point off the bench. Reneau tallied nine points and equaled a career high with six assists.
Sarah Schraut scored 13 points for Fontbonne. The Griffins shot just 24 percent from the field (18-for-74) and went 3-for-25 from 3-point range. They committed 21 turnovers.