Eureka’s Fourth Quarter Comeback Falls Just Short

ELMHURST, Ill. – A huge fourth-quarter rally wasn't enough for the Eureka women's basketball team on Sunday afternoon, as they fell 73-71 at Elmhurst.

The Red Devils kept it close early, even taking an 11-9 lead nearly five minutes into the opening quarter. However, Elmhurst responded with a 16-4 run to take a 25-15 lead into the second quarter. The Blue Jays held onto their lead for the rest of the half, taking a 12-point advantage into the break.

Elmhurst extended their lead in the third quarter, going up by 16 points heading into the final period. With 9:20 left to play, Elmhurst made 1 of 2 free throws, giving them their biggest lead of the afternoon at 55-38. But the Red Devils' offense came alive from that point on. Eureka went on an 11-2 run, fueled by seven points from Brin Hultz (Quincy, Ill./Quincy), cutting the deficit to single digits with over seven minutes to go.

With just over four minutes remaining, Allanah Jackson (Peoria, Ill./Peoria) made a layup, followed with a steal to reduce the lead to six points and give the Red Devils possession. Eureka capitalized on the turnover, finding Sierra Garcia-Reisch (Las Animas, Colo./La Junta) for a three-pointer to cut the lead to just three points, making it a one-possession game with 3:38 left. After an Elmhurst turnover, Jackson hit another layup, trimming the lead to just one point.

On the next possession, Elmhurst answered with a three-pointer to extend their lead back to four, but Eureka wouldn't back down. The Red Devils quickly responded, finding Miya Webb (Indianapolis, Ind./Brownsburg) for a three-pointer to bring the lead back to one. With 39 seconds left, Elmhurst had the chance to extend their lead at the free-throw line, converting both attempts to go up by three.

Following a timeout by Eureka, the Red Devils executed their inbound play to perfection, finding Hultz wide open for a three-pointer, which she drained to tie the game at 71 with 38 seconds remaining. However, on the ensuing possession, Elmhurst converted a layup with just 12 seconds left. Trailing by two, Eureka called their final timeout to advance the ball past midcourt. After the timeout, the Red Devils had a couple of opportunities to tie the game, starting with a layup from Niasha Rutherford (Peoria, Ill./Peoria) that missed long off the backboard. Eureka retained possession after forcing a jump ball. Inbounding under their own hoop with 10 seconds left, Rutherford had another chance from just inside the free-throw line, but missed off the backboard. Jackson grabbed the offensive rebound with under a second remaining, but her turnaround jumper fell short as the undefeated Blue Jays held on for a 73-71 win.

GAME NOTES

• Miya Webb led all scorers with a season-high 21 points before fouling out with 40 seconds remaining.
• Brin Hultz finished second in scoring with 19 points, including the game-tying three-pointer with 38 seconds left. She also led the team with 7 rebounds.
• Allanah Jackson led the Red Devils with 3 steals, adding 9 points and 5 rebounds.

UP NEXT

The Red Devils (1-2) will head to Blackburn (1-3) for their SLIAC opener on Tuesday, Nov. 26, at 5:30 p.m.