Red Devils Bounce Back, Top Fontbonne on the Road, 62-45
ST. LOUIS – The Eureka women's basketball team successfully avenged last week's home loss against Fontbonne and secured a 62-45 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over the Griffins on their home court Tuesday night.
The Red Devils didn't light it up from the field, but they played solid defense, shared the ball well and showed poise down the stretch.
Four EC players reached double figures, with Abby Stotler's (Wyoming, Ill./Stark County) leading the way with a double-double of 14 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. She scored 10 on 4-of-5 shooting from the field in the fourth quarter.
Kennedy Jackson (Peoria, Ill./Limestone) contributed 12 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench, while Alaina Vance (Camp Point, Ill./Central) and Whitney Bozarth (Normal, Ill./Normal West) each added 11.
Coming off the bench, Savannah Moore (Clinton, Ill./Clinton) played a season-high 27 minutes and finished with a season-high three assists, six points and a steal.
Defensively, the Red Devils notched 12 steals and forced 23 turnovers. Stotler and Marissa Murphy (Canton, Ill./Canton) each had three swipes and Olivia Falls (Bloomington, Ill./Bloomington) recorded two.
The team held Fontbonne to 26.3 percent shooting and 21.4 percent from beyond the arc. Whereas last week, the Griffins caught fire in the fourth and hit six 3-pointers, EC limited them to six the whole game.
The Red Devils also dominated the glass, outrebounding the home team 50-36. In addition to Stotler's 14 boards, Falls and Moore each gathered eight, Jackson pulled down seven and Vance had six.
Plus, the team distributed 17 assists – the highest total in the past four games. Murphy and Vance each had a game-high five.
Eureka jumped out to a 9-2 lead at the beginning of the game, but the Griffins chipped away until they were within three at the end of the first quarter. The Red Devils outscored the home team 12-7 in the second quarter to take a 28-20 lead into halftime.
Fontbonne gained a little ground on the visitors early in the second half, then the Red Devils responded strongly. Eureka closed the third quarter on an 11-3 run and claimed the last seven points of the frame.
Leading by 10, Stotler and the Red Devils kept attacking, extending the lead to as many as 17 in the fourth. EC shot a game-high 44 percent in the last 10 minutes and only turned the ball over three times.
Only two Griffins reached double figures on the night, with Riley Guffey scoring 14 off the bench and Kya Harbour adding 11. After seeing Fontbonne leading scorer Rylee Stafford notch 27 at Eureka last week, the Red Devils held the senior to a season-low nine points.
With the win, Eureka improved to 5-5 on the season and 4-3 in SLIAC play. The Red Devils will next host SLIAC leader Westminster (8-2, 6-1 SLIAC) on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.