In a Tri-Valley League (TVL) game, the Eureka Lady Tornadoes hosted the Humboldt Cubs on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Putting on a defensive clinic, Eureka held Humboldt to only four points in the first quarter and two in the fourth quarter. The Tornadoes dominated in the 78-31 victory.
Junior Laynie Winfrey and sophomore Brenna Rucker shot a combined 61% from the field and 50% from behind the arc to tab 44 of Eureka’s 78 points. Winfrey kicked off the game with a three-point basket, assisted by sophomore Britta Mongeau.
The shot began a 22-0 run for the Tornadoes, with contributions from Winfrey (7 points), Rucker (12 points) and freshman Elle Coulter (3 points). Humboldt finally managed to put themselves on the board with four points, their only points in the first eight minutes. Winfrey wrapped up the first quarter with a hard drive and finish at the basket.
The first two points of the second quarter belonged to the Cubs after scoring on a baseline inbounds play. The Tornadoes were unable to match the basket on the following possession and they were back on defense. Rucker got a steal and put the Tornadoes in transition. Winfrey got the ball in the corner and drove around her defender, finding the lane wide open for a quick bucket. The teams traded baskets back and forth. Just before the halftime buzzer, Rucker found Madelyn Miller fastbreaking to the basket for two. Humboldt managed another shot before the end of the half, completing the scoring for both teams. In 16 minutes, Eureka stretched their lead to 39-15.
Humboldt opened up the second half of play with a layup, drawing the foul, but missing the free throw. On the following possession, Mongeau found Winfrey in the paint. With two Cub defenders on her, Winfrey was unable to score, but she caught junior Kimber Ptacek on the backside for a left-handed layup. The Tornadoes went on to score a total of 22 points in the third to Humboldt’s 14, stretching the gap to 61-29.
Coulter was the first to score in the fourth quarter, gaining the steal on defense and taking the ball from coast to coast for the layup. Eureka’s momentum carried through until the final buzzer, which sounded the 78-31 victory over the Cubs. While the Tornadoes were firing off offensively, they had much success on the defensive end as well. With 28 steals and 14 deflections, Eureka was able to put Humboldt in a frenzy. The win allowed Eureka to maintain their undefeated TVL record, and brought their overall record to a smashing 9-4.
Stat and Scoring Leaders: POINTS: Rucker and Winfrey 22, Coulter 14, Ptacek and Miller 6, Mongeau 4, and Hannah Perrier and Lydia Mason 2.
REBOUNDS: Rucker 7, Winfrey 6, Miller 3 and Ptacek, Perrier and Mason 2. ASSISTS: Rucker 6, Winfrey and Ptacek 4, and Mongeau 2. STEALS: Rucker 14 and Winfrey 4.
Up Next
Eureka was slated to hit the road on Monday to face the Fredonia Yellowjackets in a makeup game. On Tuesday, the Tornadoes were to host Council Grove at home and return to the road to play Bluestem this Friday.
