Eureka Secures Series Sweep Over MacMurray, 96-87

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Olivia Falls (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) dropped 28 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as the Eureka women's basketball team topped MacMurray, 96-87, to complete a season series sweep over the Highlanders on Thursday.

Ashley Harfst (Saunemin, Ill./Pontiac) followed with a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Ja'Keesha Hawkins (Peoria, Ill./Peoria) added 17 points, knocking down three of the Red Devils' seven 3-pointers along the way.

Jadyn Mitchell (Flanagan, Ill./Flanagan-Cornel) contributed 12 points off the bench, while Whitney Bozarth (Normal, Ill./Normal West) and Kennedy Dura (Edwards, Ill./Brimfield) chipped in with seven and six points, respectively.

Dura also tallied 10 rebounds and five assists. Falls came up with a team-high five steals. After nearly setting a school record with 18 free throws in Saturday's win at Westminster, Falls went 14-for-15 at the free-throw line.

The Red Devils got off to a blistering start, notching 32 points on 13-of-19 shooting in the first quarter. They led by as many as 24 in the second quarter and went into halftime up 57-37.

After falling down by 27 early in the third, the Highlanders started to rally. They sliced the lead down to 14 by the time the fourth quarter came around, and opened the final frame with a 20-10 run.

Alaina Vance's layup with 4:24 remaining brought the home team within four points.

But after that, the Red Devils drew foul after foul and put away 5 of 6 free throws over the next 90 seconds to bring the lead back up to nine. EC went 6-for-6 at the line from there to secure the win.

With the win, the Red Devils moved to 12-8 and 8-5 in the SLIAC. They're now tied with Greenville and Westminster for fourth place in the league.

EC will host Iowa Wesleyan (4-16, 4-9 SLIAC) on Saturday at 1 p.m.