Eureka Puts Up Historic Numbers in Principia Rout, 86-20
ELSAH, Ill. – The Eureka women's basketball team cruised to its second St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win with an eyebrow-raising 86-20 victory over Principia at Hay Field House on Saturday – and made a little program history along the way.
It was only the fourth time in program history that Eureka has recorded a 66-point margin of victory, and Principia's 20-point total was the fewest points allowed against the Red Devils dating back to 1983.
All seven Red Devils in uniform contributed to the team's 86 total points. Freshman guard Jadyn Mitchell (Flanagan, Ill./Flanagan-Cornel) scored 17 of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter, finishing 7-for-13 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point range and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. It was the most field goals she's made in a single game, and marked the second time she's tallied a season-high 21 points in the past five games.
Senior Ashley Harfst (Saunemin, Ill./Pontiac) put together an eye-popping double-double of a career-high 21 rebounds and 19 points while making three 3-pointers.
Another senior, Kennedy Dura (Edwards, Ill./Brimfield) added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. She now has 404 on her career, quickly closing in on program record holder Molly Hardesty's 415.
Like Harfst, Olivia Falls (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) notched a double-double, finishing with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Ja'Keesha Hawkins (Peoria, Ill./Peoria) and Whitney Bozarth (Normal, Ill./Normal West) contributed nine and seven points, respectively. Bozarth registered a team-high six assists, and she and Hawkins each tied for a team-high four steals.
The Red Devils shot nearly 40 percent from the field and shot 90.9 percent from the free-throw line (20-for-22).
Eureka took a 46-13 lead into the locker room. They led by double-digits all but five minutes of the game. The Red Devils continued the momentum well into the second half, matching consistent offense with suffocating defense.
Eureka held Principia scoreless in the third quarter on 0-for-17 shooting from the field and only allowed seven points in the entire half. The Red Devils finished the game with a season-high 30 points off 34 turnovers. They also notched 40 points in the paint to Principia's 10.
The previous lowest score by an opposing team was 22 points in an 82-22 win at Lincoln Christian on Jan. 13, 2010. Eureka's previous largest margin of victory in a SLIAC game was 52 points, set in 84-32 rout over Blackburn at home on Jan. 21, 2017.
The program record for largest margin of victory (85 points) was set on Jan. 20, 2011, when Taren Martin's Red Devils beat Lincoln Christian, 114-29.
After notching three wins in four days, the Red Devils (6-2, 2-0 SLIAC) will have a week without competition before they host Westminster (2-4, 1-1 SLIAC) next Saturday at 1 p.m.