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For Immediate Releaselincoln, illinois
February 19, 2009
sweeping success: Red Devils win for 2nd time over angels
Eureka College finished the game on a 12-5 run to pull away from a tied score with four minutes left for a 54-47 victory on the road over Lincoln Christian College Thursday night. Lindsey Crum (Washington, Ill./HS) connected on her last four field goal attempts en route to 12 points over the final 5:30 of the contest to help the Red Devils survive their second coldest shooting night of the 2008-09 campaign.
Crum was just one of a host of Red Devils that struggled to find the range on the night over the first 35 minutes of the game. Both teams, in fact, were icy offensively as the halftime field goal percentages stood at 26 percent for Eureka (4-19) and 22 percent for Lincoln Christian (3-19). That gave both sides ample opportunity to pad their rebounding statistics, with the Red Devils taking advantage to the tune of a 50-40 edge on the boards.
Lauren Snopek (Metamora, Ill./HS) sank Eureka's only three-pointer of the game just over two minutes after tip-off to give EC a 3-2 lead. The Red Devils did not trail the rest of the night. It was hardly a walk in the park EC on the Angels' Senior Night, however. Sarah Holdenrid (Mendota, Ill./HS) gave the Red Devils their largest lead they would enjoy all game at just eight points with a jumper at the 4:20 mark of the first half. Lincoln Christian rallied back with the next seven tallies before Crum canned two free throws with 11 seconds left to put Eureka ahead 21-18 at intermission.
Despite a low-scoring opening frame, things actually got worse for Eureka offensively before they got better as the Red Devils managed just one field goal over the first nine minutes of the second half. But Eureka was able to maintain the lead thanks to hitting 7-of-8 at the foul line and holding the Angels to nine points.
It took the Red Devils four shots on one possession to finally get one through the hoop, but Lisa Byard (Morton, Ill./HS) stuck with it, grabbing an offensive board and putting it back for a 32-27 Eureka lead. The EC margin would eventually increase to seven before Lincoln Christian mounted a 9-2 comeback to tie the game for the first time in the second half at 36 with 6:30 remaining.
There were three more tied scores in the next 2:30 of action, but each time Eureka was able to regain the lead thanks to a basket by Crum. Snopek added two more on a layup with 2:36 to go and after an LCC free throw, Byard converted two free throws of her own for a 48-43 Eureka lead.
Lincoln Christian crawled back to within three points in the final minute and elected to play conventional defense rather than foul. The Red Devils ran time off the clock using quick ball movement, then Byard found Crum alone beneath the basket for an easy two points that put EC ahead by five with 21 seconds left. Kim Downs (Kewanee, Ill./HS) stole the ball away on the ensuing possession and with it, any hopes the Angels were holding out for a last second miracle.
Crum pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. She lead all players in the game with 17 points. Crum and Downs tied for game-high honors in assists with four. Downs tied her career-high with six blocked shots, giving her 47 on the season. She is nine away from her own school record of 56 blocks in a season with two games to play.
Snopek, who took away five steals, recorded her sixth consecutive game in double figures with 15 points. She had 10 in the second half to lead her team to victory. Byard had 14 points and eight rebounds. All seven Red Devils that played grabbed at least three boards, including Chantaivia Knight (Normal, Ill./University) and Leesa Statler (Marietta, Ill./Bushnell-Prairie City), who had seven each. The Red Devils shot 27.4 percent. Their only game lower this season was 26.9 percent in a loss at Fontbonne. Eureka made up for it at the line, making 19-of-24 for 79 percent.
Jessica Blythe scored 14 points in her final home game at Lincoln Christian. The Angels had 18 turnovers, 12 fewer than they gave away in a 62-45 loss at Eureka a week earlier.
The Red Devils will return to SLIAC competition to play their final road game of the season Saturday, February 21 versus Westminster College at 1:00 pm in Fulton, Mo. The Blue Jays are having one of their finest seasons ever as they are currently tied for second place in the conference standings. Westminster escaped Eureka with a narrow 62-58 victory in the first meeting January 24.
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For More Information Contact:
Bryan Moore
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