Early Cornell Surge Too Much for Eureka

EUREKA, Ill. – A fast start by Cornell proved to be the difference as the Eureka women's basketball team came up short, 73-54, on Thursday afternoon at home.

Cornell opened the game with a dominant start, racing out to a 13-0 lead before Allysa Taylor (Tehachapi, Calif./Tehachapi) put the Red Devils on the board with 4:09 remaining in the first quarter. The Rams continued to control the opening period and carried a 19-3 advantage into the end of the first quarter.

Cornell scored first in the second quarter to extend the lead to 22-3 before Abigail Martinez (Los Alamos, N.M./Los Alamos) scored her first points of the season to make it 22-5. After Cornell pushed the margin to 24-5, Eureka answered with a 5-0 run fueled by points from Martinez, Miracle Armstrong (Chicago, Ill./Wendell Phillips), and Brooklyn Bowman (Washington, Ill./Washington) to cut the deficit to 24-10. The Rams responded by stretching the lead to 33-13, but the Red Devils countered with another 5-0 surge, highlighted by a layup from Martinez and an and-one by newcomer Kayla Collins (Fort Worth, Texas/Fort Worth Christian), to make it 33-18. Cornell closed the half strong and took a 39-21 lead into the break.

Cornell scored the opening basket of the third quarter to go up 41-21, but Collins answered with a 3-pointer to make it 41-24. After the Rams rebuilt the lead to 20 at 45-25, Eureka responded with a 7-2 run to trim the deficit to 47-32. The Red Devils continued to battle throughout the period and trailed 53-38 heading into the fourth.

The Rams opened the final quarter on a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 59-38 and later pushed the margin to as many as 28 at 72-44. Eureka answered late with an 8-0 run, sparked by a basket from Armstrong and back-to-back 3-pointers from Collins and Railynn Brown (Erlanger, Ky./Lloyd Memorial), to pull within 20 at 72-52. Cornell added a free throw before Armstrong scored the final points of the game, sealing the 73-54 result.

Collins led the Red Devils with 16 points, knocking down three 3-pointers. Taylor finished with 10 points and five rebounds, while Brown chipped in nine points. Martinez added five points, and Armstrong contributed six points along with four steals.

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Eureka will take a break for the holidays before returning home to face Monmouth on Dec. 29 at 1 p.m.