Red Devils Top Tigers, Close Season on Winning Note, 67-63
EUREKA — Samantha Sarnes (Havana, Ill./Havana) tallied a team-high 17 points in her final game as a Red Devil, and the Eureka women closed the 2018-2019 campaign with a 67-63 victory over Iowa Wesleyan Saturday afternoon at Christine Bonati Bollwinkle Arena.
The win concluded a 14-11 season for the Red Devils and locked up a .500 finish (8-8) in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. It was EC's third consecutive winning season and second straight under coach Amos Arbogast.
Sarnes, who was honored with a postgame ceremony, scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, shot 6-for-16 from the field, gathered seven rebounds and had three assists. She was one of four Red Devils to reach double figures in the win.
Junior Ashley Harfst (Saunemin, Ill./Pontiac) racked up 15 points and a team-high 11 rebounds while shooting 5 of 10 from the field and hitting 3 of 6 3-point attempts.
Freshman Olivia Falls shot 6-for-7 from the field and finished with 14 points, and junior Kennedy Dura added 13 points, a team-high eight assists and two steals.
The Tigers also had four players reach double figures, with senior Darby Massner leading the way with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Harriet Fowler, Allie Massner and Deericka Martin added 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Red Devils led for almost the whole game and had a 10-point advantage at one point in the first half, but the Tigers kept it competitive all afternoon. EC trailed the Tigers by a point going into the fourth quarter, but a pair of early-period plays by Sarnes put the home team ahead.
First, the senior drilled a 3-pointer with 9:18 left to make it 45-43. Then, after Iowa Wesleyan's Darby Massner tied the game at 45-45 with a layup, Sarnes answered with a jumper with 7:29 left.
The Red Devils managed to hold the Tigers at bay from there. Down the stretch, Harfst knocked down a triple, Falls hit a jumper and freshman Josie Morgan (Washington, Ill./Washington) banked in 3 from the corner that extended EC's lead to six with a minute left.
Allie Massner canned a 3 to bring the Tigers within two with 18 seconds left, but Dura and Morgan both hit free throws to put the game away.
