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For Immediate Releasefulton, missouri
February 21, 2009
Crum nets 26 1st half pts, 1st with 2 30+ point games in 23 years
Lindsey Crum (Washington, Ill./HS) led Eureka College with 26 first half points and finished with 31 for the game, but Westminster College was able to maintain its hold on second place in the SLIAC with an 81-68 victory over the Red Devils Saturday afternoon. It was the Blue Jays' fourth consecutive win.
Crum was simply on fire in the first half, draining attempts from all over the court. She was 4-of-5 from three-point range and a perfect 8-of-8 at the foul line. Included in those eight free throws were three on the back-end of a trio of three-point plays and one that completed a rare four-point play. She even missed out on an opportunity for more when she was forced out of the game before trying the first of two free throws because her knee was bleeding.
Chantaivia Knight (Normal, Ill./University) and Crum combined for all 11 points during an 11-3 run that moved Eureka (4-20, 2-13 SLIAC) in front 17-11. The Red Devils' good fortune was met with stiff resistence by the Blue Jays (12-11, 11-4 SLIAC), who scored the next nine points to seize the lead. They eventually capitalized on the change of momentum to the tune of a 15-3 rally that left Eureka trailing 26-20 with 8:50 left in the half.
The Red Devils were able to hold Westminster without a field goal or the next four minutes to work their way back into the lead. Lauren Snopek (Metamora, Ill./HS) put two free throws in with 6:02 left, then hit Crum began amassing points at a dizzying pace. Between the 5:04 and 3:38 marks of the opening frame, Crum converted a three-point play three times. Somehow, she still found time to mix in a three-pointer from behind the arc and a layup. By the time Crum canned another trey with 2:53 to go, she had scored an amazing 15 points in a time span of just 2:11.
Westminster as a team combined for just five points over the same time frame, resulting in a 37-33 lead for Eureka. But just as before when EC had taken the lead, the Blue Jays came back with a vengeance, tallying the last nine points of the half to carry a 42-37 lead into halftime.
Westminster relied on a perimeter attack in the first stanza, firing away 11 times from three-point territory and hitting the target an impressive six times. After some halftime adjustments, Eureka did not allow any Blue Jay three-pointers in the second half.
The Red Devils were not the only ones in need of some changes as the Blue Jays focused their efforts on cooling off the simmering Crum. Although she added five points in nine trips to the line, Eureka's leading scorer was held without a field goal after intermission.
The extra attention opened lanes for Crum's teammates, though. Two of them went on to record career-highs in points. Sarah Holdenrid (Mendota, Ill./HS) and Snopek did not appear to be on their way to career-bests as they combined for just three points in the first half. However, Holdenrid tallied eight points in the second half, including a perfect 4-of-4 at the line, to finish nine points. She also led the team in rebounds with a career-high tying six. Snopek hit three treys en route to 17 points after halftime to wind up with 19 for the day. Her effort from long range helped Eureka end a dubious streak as the Red Devils had been outscored from three-point territory in all 23 pervious games played this season. Eureka had seven in the game compared to six for Westminster.
Westminster quickly built a double digit lead just after the break by scoring the first six points. Combining that with the end of the first half, the Blue Jays put together 15 straight points. Over four and a half minutes went by before the Red Devils' first field goal of the frame.
Westminster's largest lead was 18 points with 8:40 to play. Snopek recorded 10 points the rest of the way for Eureka, helping EC to an 18-10 rally that sliced the Westminster lead to nine at 77-68 with 1:14 left. That turned out to be as close as Eureka could get.
Crum became just the second Red Devil ever with multiple 30+ point games in one season. She totaled 34 against MacMurray on January 21. Sherry Bryan had five 30+ point games during the 1985-86 season.
Ashley Stanfill, one of three seniors playing their final home game for Westminster, led the Blue Jays with 17 points and 12 boards. They gained a 23-11 rebounding edge in the second half and shot 45 percent overall from the field, the highest for any EC opponent in 15 games.
Eureka's season finale will be Tuesday, February 24 at 6:00 pm versus MacMurray College. Senior Night festivities for Kim Downs (Kewanee, Ill./HS), the lone senior on the Red Devils, will take place prior to the game. Downs has been a part of six consecutive wins over the Highlanders in her EC career, including a 62-58 decision in Jacksonville on Jan. 21.
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For More Information Contact:
Bryan Moore
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