For Immediate Release

eureka, illinois

Gardner tallies 31 despite foul result at Blackburn

Boxscore attached

CARLINVILLE, Ill. — Eureka College senior Brittany Gardner (Mooresville, Ind./HS) poured in a career-high 31 points in the Red Devils' 72-70 loss at Blackburn College Wednesday night.  Eureka was called for a season-high 26 fouls in the critical St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match up, including one with 2.6 seconds on the clock that allowed Blackburn to move ahead 71-70 on a pair of free throws.

Eureka (5-14, 4-7 SLIAC) fell behind 29-12 with six minutes remaining the in the first half following a 16-3 Blackburn (6-13, 5-6 SLIAC) run.  But the Red Devils fought back with nine straight points to end the half to get within 34-29 at intermission.  Six of those points came from a pair of three-pointers by Gardner, who finished the half with 15 points.

The Red Devils, who had averaged 15.6 fouls per game on the season coming into the contest, were whistled for 17 fouls in the second half alone despite not needing to stop the clock at the end of the game to catch up. Blackburn marched to the line 25 times, converting 18 after the break to turn back the persistent Eureka attack.

Eureka took its first lead since the score was 2-0 on a Gardner trey with 15:25 left.  Nicole Fisher (Canton, Ill./HS) added a lay up on the next EC possession to give the Red Devils their largest lead on the night at
45-42.

Blackburn rallied back to hold the lead for the majority of the half, but Gardner would not let EC fade away.  She drained three-pointers on back-to-back possessions igniting a 12-4 Eureka push.  Her old fashioned three-point play at the 3:30 mark gave Eureka a 65-63 lead and Gardner her first ever 30+ point game.

The game then turned into a see-saw affair over the final three minutes.  Nicole Ropp (Minonk, Ill./Fieldcrest) twice put Eureka on top at the foul line only to see Blackburn come back seconds later and take the lead again.

Ropp's two free throws with 1:09 to play were answered by a Meghan Polston lay up that put Blackburn in front 69-68.  Fisher, who was 8-for-9 at the line on the night, was fouled with 35 seconds remaining and calmly sank both foul shots giving EC a 70-69 advantage.

Eureka appeared to have the game won after Gardner ran down a Blackburn missed shot in the waning moments, but she was called out of bounds while trying to elude a defender with 6.8 seconds to play. 
After a series of time outs, the ball was tipped loose multiple times before landing in the hands of Blackburn's Sierra Shipley, who was fouled with 2.6 seconds on the clock, much to the dismay of the Maroon and Gold.  Shipley canned both free throws to give her team a 71-70 edge.

Eureka's long in bounds pass was lost out of bounds, and one final free throw by BC set the final score.

Gardner's 31 points are the most in a game by a Red Devil since Nicole Fisher scored 32 versus Knox College Nov 21, 2006. She also handed out five assists against just three turnovers.  She was 6-for-9 from long range and grabbed five rebounds.  Fisher recorded her 13th double-double this season with 22 points and 11 boards.  That effort actually dropped her scoring average against Blackburn over the last four games to 25.8.

Ropp ended with 10 points, all coming in the second half helping EC match a season-best for points in a half with 40.  Kim Downs (Kewanee, Ill./HS) had six rebounds, four points and four blocked shots.  She was the only Red Devil to foul out, though EC had four other players finish the game with four.  Eureka shot 44 percent (24-for-55) from the field.

Shipley led Blackburn with 16 points and eight rebounds.  She was just 2-for-11 from the floor, but 11-for-14 at the line.

The Red Devils will finish a stretch of four out of five games on the road Saturday, Feb. 9 when they visit Fontbonne University for a 3:00 pm tip-off.  The men's game starts the SLIAC doubleheader at 1:00 pm.  The Griffins took the first meeting on Jan. 9 by the count of 68-52.

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For More Information Contact:

Brian Sullivan
Sports Information Director
Eureka College
300 E. College Avenue
Eureka, Illinois 61530
309-467-6456
bsullivan@eureka.edu