Eureka Falls to Westminster After Fourth Quarter Surge

EUREKA, Ill. – The Eureka women's basketball team came up short in SLIAC play on Saturday afternoon, falling 74-58 to Westminster at home after a tightly contested first three quarters.

Eureka jumped out to an early lead, opening the scoring on a Courtney Hart (Lancaster, Calif./Yosemite) layup. After Westminster answered, Miracle Armstrong (Chicago, Ill./Wendell Phillips) knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Red Devils a 4-2 edge, before an Allysa Taylor (Tehachapi, Calif./Tehachapi) layup and a Sierra Garcia-Reisch (Las Animas, Colo./La Junta) transition bucket pushed the lead to 8-4. A basket from Armstrong and a 3-pointer by Miyala Gallegos (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield Central) extended the advantage to 13-8, and Garcia-Reisch capped the quarter by knocking down a three with 1:26 left to give Eureka its largest lead of the day at 16-10. Westminster closed the period on a 4-0 run, trimming the margin to 16-14 after one.

The Blue Jays carried their momentum into the second quarter, scoring the first six points to take a 20-16 lead and extend their run to 10-0. Armstrong responded with five quick points to tie the game at 21-21, but Westminster answered again to go up 26-21. A Hart layup and a Railynn Brown (Erlanger, Ky./Lloyd Memorial) three brought Eureka back within two, and Taylor was fouled on a three-point attempt in the final minute, converting all three free throws to cut the deficit to 32-31. Westminster scored late to hold a 34-31 advantage at the halftime break.

Westminster opened the second half by pushing its lead to 44-36, but the Red Devils answered with a 7-0 run, sparked by a Brown three, a Taylor layup, and a Brooklyn Bowman (Washington, Ill. / Washington) jumper to close the gap to 44-43. Armstrong drilled a three with 1:32 left in the third quarter to give Eureka a brief 48-46 lead, and Taylor followed with a layup to make it 50-48. Westminster scored just before the buzzer, sending the game into the fourth quarter tied at 50-50.

The fourth quarter swung in favor of the visitors, as Westminster opened the frame with a decisive 15-2 run to seize control at 65-52. The Blue Jays continued to pull away down the stretch, outscoring Eureka 24-8 in the final period to secure the 74-58 victory.

Taylor led Eureka with 17 points, while Armstrong added 13 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. Garcia-Reisch finished with seven points, and Brown chipped in eight as the Red Devils battled throughout before the late surge by Westminster.

UP NEXT

Eureka travels to McKendree on Tuesday, Dec. 16 for an exhibition matchup before returning home to host Cornell on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 2 p.m.