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For Immediate Releaseeureka, illinois
February 11, 2009
byard hauls in frosh record 20 reb., eC dropped by 3 again
Eureka College could not maintain a double digit halftime lead for the second game in a row Wednesday night as the Red Devils' season added yet another frustrating chapter. Blackburn College put together a 12-0 second half run to sneak out a 60-57 victory, avoiding a potentially costly upset in Eureka.
The Red Devils (2-18, 2-11 SLIAC), who lost at the buzzer to Principia their last time out after leading by 12 at halftime, went right after Blackburn (10-11, 8-4 SLIAC) from the opening tip. Eureka dominated the boards all night, piling up a commanding 48-24 rebounding advantage. The dominance, in fact, reached historic proportions as first-year center Lisa Byard (Morton, Ill./HS) collected 20 rebounds by herself, just four less than Blackburn had as a team. She is just the third Red Devil ever to record at least 20 rebounds in a game, and came within two of Eureka's single game record of 22.
Byard nearly had an overtime period to continue her bid for the record. Blackburn's largest lead was just four points. It came with 1:13 left. On Eureka's next possession, Chantaivia Knight (Normal, Ill./University) cut the deficit to three with a free throw. Then, Byard was fouled after grabbing the rebound off a Blackburn miss with 40 seconds left. She made both free throws to make the score 56-55.
Following a Beavers timeout, Jasmine Robinson raced behind the Eureka defense, turning a long pass into a three-point Blackburn lead. The Red Devils called for time with 33 seconds left and eventually Lauren Snopek (Metamora, Ill./HS) had a look at a three-pointer from the corner that would have tied the game. She barely missed, but Lindsey Crum (Washington, Ill./HS) tracked down the rebound for EC and found Byard underneath the basket to slice the lead back to a single point with 10 seconds to go.
Eureka next fouled Natalia Gregory with eight seconds on the clock. It was a smart play, since the Beavers shot a woeful 48 percent (11-for-23) at the line in the game, and Gregory did not help matters by missing badly on the front end of a one-and-bonus. Byard pulled down her 20th board and EC called its final timeout, down 58-57 with 7.2 seconds remaining.
Just as the drama was building, Aerial Hawkey, who led the Beavers with 18 points, took the air out of the gym as she stole the ball away in the backcourt before Eureka could get its potential game-winning play in gear. She was fouled with four seconds left and dropped in both free throws, increasing the lead to three. Eureka was not able to get a three-point shot off before the final gun.
The Red Devils fell to 1-9 in games decided by 10 points or less with the loss. They have lost five games by eight points or less just in SLIAC play, including two to Blackburn and Westminster, who are currently tied for second place.
Eureka held Blackburn without a field goal for 5:30 to begin the game to sprint out to an 11-1 lead. The Beavers climbed back to within one thanks to a 9-0 rally, but the Red Devils ended the half by scoring 15 of the final 21 points for a 33-23 edge at intermission.
Crum scorched Blackburn for 16 first half points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Crum was only the front-line star offensively as Eureka shot an impressive 64 percent (14-for-22) in the first half despite foul trouble to several key players.
Unfortunately, turnovers were a problem for EC. Eureka had 16 in the first half, and even more after halftime. It looked like the Red Devils might be able to overcome their generous nature as Snopek took a nice pass from Knight in for a layup that gave Eureka a 42-30 lead with 12:26 to go.
Blackburn responded with a 12-0 run that tied the game with 8:26 on the clock. The score would be tied three more times and Eureka would go up by as many as four before Blackburn took its first lead since the score was 1-0 on a three-pointer by Gregory at the 2:37 mark.
Crum poured in 24 points to lead all players in the game. She also added eight rebounds. Byard scored nine of her 11 points in the second half to record her seventh double-double of the season and fifth in her last seven contests. Her 20 rebounds are the second most by a player in a SLIAC game this season. The Red Devils led 38-18 in points in the paint and 15-3 in second chance points.
Kim Downs (Kewanee, Ill./HS) finished with two blocked shots to move past Jill McGinnis into second place on Eureka's all-time list with 126. She pitched in six points and seven rebounds. Snopek hit on 5-of-11 from the field for 10 points, three rebounds and three assists. The Red Devils shot 48 percent to nearly overcome a season-high 34 turnovers.
Blackburn was held to 33 percent shooting, including 9-for-29 from three-point territory. Only five Beavers registered in the scoring column, but they each had at least nine points. They enjoyed a 30-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
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For More Information Contact:
Bryan Moore
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