Hadley, Collins Lead Eureka Effort at Westminster

FULTON, Mo. – The Eureka women's basketball team dropped a road contest to Westminster on Saturday afternoon, 61-41. The Red Devils showed early fight, but a pair of extended Blue Jay scoring runs proved to be the difference.

Eureka showed energy in the opening minutes, taking a brief 3-2 lead on a three-pointer from Lailah Hadley (Indianapolis, Ind./Purdue Polytechnic). Hadley answered again later to keep the Red Devils in front at 5-4, while Miracle Armstrong (Chicago, Ill./Wendell Phillips) added a jumper to help Eureka stay within one. Westminster responded with an 8-0 run to close the quarter, turning a tight battle into an 18-9 Blue Jay advantage.

Westminster carried that momentum into the second period, extending its run to 17-0 to build a 27-9 lead. Brooklyn Bowman (Washington, Ill./Washington) snapped the drought at the free throw line, and Kayla Collins (Fort Worth, Texas/Fort Worth Christian) knocked down a three-pointer to trim the deficit. Still, Eureka found it difficult to generate consistent offense against Westminster's pressure, and the Blue Jays took a 29-13 lead into halftime.

The Red Devils regrouped after the break and found more rhythm offensively. Collins and Abigail Martinez (Los Alamos, N.M./Los Alamos) scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to 14, and Martinez buried a three-pointer in the closing seconds of the third quarter to bring Eureka within 41-28 entering the final period.

Railynn Brown (Erlanger, Ky./Lloyd Memorial) opened the fourth with a three-pointer to pull Eureka within 10, and Hadley answered a Westminster basket to keep the margin there with plenty of time remaining. However, an 11-0 Blue Jay run late in the quarter pushed the lead to 59-37, putting the game out of reach as Westminster secured the 61-41 win.

Hadley and Collins led the Red Devils with 11 points each. Hadley added nine rebounds and four assists, while Collins grabbed seven boards. Martinez contributed seven points and four rebounds, and Kenna Newton (Toulon, Ill./Stark County) collected seven rebounds.

UP NEXT

Eureka remains on the road for a long weekend trip, facing Lyon on Thursday before taking on MUW on Saturday.