For Immediate Release

eureka, illinois

Seniors lead Red Devils into win column

December 8, 2007

EUREKA, Ill. — Senior Night is still more than two months away, but Eureka's seniors could not wait any longer to make their presence known. Not with their final season near to being on the brink. The four verterans for EC combined for 55 points to lead the Red Devils to their first win of the season, 68-43 over Principia College Saturday afternoon.

Eureka (1-5, 1-1 SLIAC) held the Panthers (0-6, 0-2 SLIAC) to a field goal percentage of 25 percent (16-64) for the game, and owned a 53-36 rebounding advantage to climb back to .500 in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action.

Trailing for the final time at 9-7, the Red Devils began clicking offensively like they have not done yet this season. Eureka attacked the offensive glass successfully in addition to converting 10 out of 12 free throw attempts in the first half. The Maroon and Gold went on a game deciding 25-4 run to take a 32-13 lead with still six minutes to go in the half. Principia gained ground with a 9-2 rally before the break, but EC still had a cushy 38-25 margin at intermission.

The second half had an ominous feel to it for the home faithful as Principia slowly sliced away at the Eureka lead. The Panthers briefly got within single digits as Andie Raffles capped 6-0 run with a lay up making the score 51-42 with 6:43 remaining.

Any thoughts of a monumental comeback when be quashed soon thereafter as senior Brittany Gardner (Mooresville, Ind./HS), who lead the Red Devils with 21 points, sank two free throws and then converted a steal by her classmate Nicole Fisher (Canton, Ill./HS) into a lay up, taking the lead back up to 13.

The Red Devils would go on to score 15 consecutive points to win going away. They held the Panthers to just a single free throw over the final 6:43 of the game.

Gardner recorded her third career game of over 20 points, with two coming against Principia. She also led the team with three assists and four steals. Fisher tallied nine of her 19 points in the last five minutes of the game, helping the Red Devils pad their lead. She was 9-for-11 at the charity stripe, and EC was 21-for-27 (78 percent) as a team. She also grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds, just three off her record setting performance from earlier in the week.

Fellow senior Brandi Payne (Eureka, Ill./HS) just missed also posting a double-double with 11 points and nine boards. Lisa Ghighi (Oglesby, Ill./LaSalle-Peru) rounded out the seniors' output with four points. Shelby Naab (Beecher City, Ill./HS) carded nine points and six rebounds off the bench.

Nicole Bushong led Principia with 10 points. Sara McDaniel secured 10 rebounds for the Panthers, who shot 15 percent (3-for-20) from three-point territory.

Eureka has a pair of non-conference road games scheduled next week as the semester comes to a close. Next up is Monmouth College, Wednesday, December 12 at 7:00 pm.

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For More Information Contact:

Bryan Moore
Sports Information Director
Eureka College
300 E. College Avenue
Eureka, Illinois 61530
309-467-6456
bmoore@eureka.edu