The Eureka Lady Tornadoes traveled for another TVL matchup on Friday, Feb. 9, pounding the Lions of Bluestem, 63-34.
Scoring was quite slow for both teams, and it wasn’t until a few minutes into the first quarter that freshman Elle Coulter drained the shot from behind the arc, assisted by Britta Mongeau. Eureka started a 7-0 run and never looked back. Bluestem finally responded with a threepoint basket to shorten the gap, 7-3. In transition, Laynie Winfrey found Brenna Rucker in pursuit to the basket.
Rucker maneuvered her way through the lane for the quick 2 points, forcing a Bluestem timeout.
The Lions managed to get another 2 points on the inbound. Eureka and Bluestem continued to battle for the remainder of the quarter, but the Tornadoes had the last laugh. Winfrey kicked the ball to Rucker in the corner, who sidestepped her defender and drained the three just before the buzzer. Eureka had the 16-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
A scoring spree by the Lady Tornadoes in the second quarter put them up at half, 33-17.
Eureka scored the first points of the second half off a baseline inbound. Mongeau passed the ball into Winfrey, relocated to the corner, and got the ball back for another three-point basket.
Bluestem came right back scoring a three. Lydia Mason made an appearance after delivering the Tornadoes yet another trey. The final points of the quarter came from Kimber Ptacek off an offensive putback. Drawing the foul, Ptacek was sent to the line to complete the three-point play with a free throw. The Tornadoes went into the final quarter of play ahead 5422.
The Lions outscored the Tornadoes 9-12 in the fourth quarter. The upstaging wasn’t enough to overcome Eureka’s dominance in the first three quarters. The buzzer sounded a 63-34 victory for the Lady Tornadoes.
Rucker had an outstanding game scoring 18 points, earning 12 rebounds, dishing out 3 assists, and 4 steals. The Lady Tornado had a double- double performance for the second game in a row. Winfrey had much success on the rebounding front with 12, tying with Rucker for the lead in that category.
Stats and Scoring Leaders:
POINTS: Rucker 18, Coulter 14, Mongeau 9, Ptacek 7,Winfrey 6, Mason 3, and Alaina Westerman and Hannah Perrier 2. REBOUNDS: Winfrey and Rucker 12, Ptacek and Westerman 4, and Mongeau 3. ASSISTS: Winfrey 6, Mongeau 4, and Rucker and Coulter 3. STEALS: Rucker 4, and Mason 2.
Up Next
The Eureka Lady Tornadoes will host the Erie Red Devils at home for the last time this season.
The Senior Night game took place on Tuesday, Feb. 13. On Thursday, Feb. 15, the Tornadoes will wrap up Tri-Valley League play on the road in a showdown against the Cherryvale Chargers.
