Eureka's Eeten Ties Assist Record in 88-66 Win at Blackburn

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CARLINVILLE, Ill. – Eureka College sophomore guard Caty Eeten (Eureka, Ill./Eureka H.S.) distributed 14 assists to match a 21-year-old program record, as the visiting Red Devils used an excellent first half and accurate shooting to coast to an 88-66 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over winless Blackburn, Wednesday night in Carlinville, Ill.  The victory extended Eureka's road winning streak to six games.

Eeten's 14 assists tied the single-game Eureka record set by Deb Kessinger during the 1990-91 season.  Eeten's previous career-high in assists was eight, set on two different occasions during her 32-game collegiate career and as recently as Jan. 4, 2012 at Spalding.  The double-digit assist total was Eureka's first since Lauren Snopek had 10 helpers against Lincoln Christian at the Reagan Center on Feb. 17, 2010.

Eureka (12-3, 6-2 SLIAC) never trailed the Beavers (0-16, 0-7 SLIAC) on Wednesday, taking the lead for good (4-2) on a basket by senior forward Lisa Byard (Morton, Ill./Morton H.S.) just 64 seconds into the game.  The Red Devils continued to apply the pressure with a 10-0 run midway through the half that turned a one-possession advantage into a 28-15 cushion after a layup by freshman forward Kelsey Shoemake (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria H.S.) with 8:50 left before halftime.  Eureka ultimately carried a 48-31 advantage into halftime, its largest lead of the first half.

The Red Devils continued to pour it on early in the second half, leading by as many as 33 points when junior reserve Kourtney Ewald (Ottawa, Ill./Ottawa H.S./Illinois Valley) drilled two fouls shots for an 86-53 lead with 4:33 to play.  All 16 of Eureka's healthy players saw the floor on Wednesday, and sophomore forward Victoria White (Chicago, Ill./Dunbar H.S.) scored her first career points on a layup early in the second half.

Senior forward Khassandrae Brown (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria H.S./Kankakee) scored 20 points to share game-high honors with Blackburn's Briana Rae.  Eureka sophomore guard Kiley Bugaieski (Tremont, Ill./Tremont H.S.) connected on all five of her 3-point attempts and finished the contest with a career-high 15 points.  Senior guard Sara Hamilton (Washington, Ill./Washington H.S./Illinois Central) was also accurate from beyond the arc with a 4-for-4 showing, while Shoemake set new personal-bests with 12 points and 17 minutes.

Eureka will continue its brief two-game SLIAC road swing this Saturday with a 1 p.m. visit to Principia in Elsah, Ill.  The Panthers downed Eureka at the Reagan Center on Dec. 3, 68-58.