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For Immediate ReleaseWomen's Basketball -- Feb. 1, 2012
Eureka Dumps Blackburn For Eighth Straight Win, 73-50
EUREKA, Ill. – Eureka College sophomore guard Caty Eeten (Eureka, Ill./Eureka H.S.) led all scorers with 25 points and junior guard Jay Stewart (Taylorville, Ill./Taylorville H.S./Illinois State) put up her first collegiate double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, sending the Red Devils to their eighth win in a row with a 73-50 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference triumph over Blackburn, Wednesday night at the Reagan Center.
Eureka (16-3, 10-2 SLIAC) got off to a slow start, making only three of its first 14 field goal attempts before senior forward Lisa Byard (Morton, Ill./Morton H.S.) scored in the paint for a 15-9 lead with 12:06 left in the first half. The Beavers battled back within a single possession, 17-15, but Eureka kicked its offense into gear with a quick 8-0 run that covered 2-minutes, 8-seconds and gave EC their first double-digit lead of the night at 25-15. The Red Devils eventually closed the half with an additional 7-0 burst behind points from Eeten, Byard and freshman forward Kelsey Shoemake (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria H.S.) for a 32-17 cushion at halftime.
The visitors cut their deficit to 34-24 on Briana Rae’s layup with 16:49 left in the game, but Eureka answered with another impressive stretch to put the game away. Eeten’s jumper at the 16:34 mark sparked a 17-0 run by the Red Devils that culminated with a 3-pointer by Eeten for a 51-24 lead with 11:44 remaining.
Blackburn (0-20, 0-11 SLIAC) finally stopped the burst with a 3-pointer by Shelby Smith, but not before the Eureka defense held the Beavers scoreless for a stretch of 5-minutes, 43-seconds. Eureka would go on to lead by as many as 31 points when junior reserve Melissa Clements (Sheridan, Ill./Serena H.S./Illinois Valley) drilled a jumper for a 71-40 lead with 2:54 to play.
Eeten went 9-for-18 from the field and added five assists to share game-high honors with senior teammate Sara Hamilton (Washington, Ill./Washington H.S./Illinois Central). Senior forward Khassandrae Brown (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria H.S./Kankakee) added 13 points in the victory, while Byard led all players with 12 rebounds. The Red Devils went 22-for-26 from the foul line and outrebounded Blackburn, 56-45.
Smith made four 3-pointers en route to a team-high 18 points for Blackburn. The Beavers shot just 24 percent (17-for-71) for the evening. Wednesday’s loss was Blackburn’s 21st in a row dating back to last season.
Eureka will try to stretch both its overall win streak and its road winning streak to nine games this Saturday in a 1 p.m. tip-off against Webster in St. Louis, Mo.
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For More Information Contact:
Bryan Moore
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