Red Devils Fall to Host Panthers in Hanover Tournament Opener

HANOVER, Ind. – The Eureka women's basketball team fell in the first round of the Hanover Tournament on Friday night, dropping an 85-40 decision to the undefeated Panthers.

After Hanover opened the scoring, Sierra Garcia-Reisch (Las Animas, Colo./La Junta) knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Red Devils a brief 3-2 advantage at the 8:04 mark of the first quarter. It would be the only lead for Eureka, as Hanover answered with a 6-0 spurt before Allysa Taylor (Tehachapi, Calif./Tehachapi) connected from deep to make it 8-6. The Panthers then seized momentum with a 13-0 run to build a 21-6 lead. Courtney Hart (Lancaster, Calif./Yosemite) closed the opening period by scoring four straight points, trimming the deficit to 21-10 after one.

Hanover controlled the second quarter, shooting 81.3 percent from the field and outscoring Eureka 31-10 to take a 52-20 advantage into halftime. The Panthers' strong play continued after the break, holding the Red Devils to four points in the third and stretching the margin to 74-24 heading to the fourth.

Eureka battled through the final 10 minutes, outscoring Hanover 16-11, behind 11 points off turnovers and 10 second-chance points.

Garcia-Reisch recorded 12 points, five rebound, and three steals. Taylor added 13 points, three rebounds, and a team-high three assists, while Hart posted 10 points and three boards. Miracle Armstrong (Chicago, Ill./Wendell Phillips) contributed five assists, three steals, and a block.

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Eureka will take on Wilmington in the tournament's consolation game on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.