In a clash of unbeaten teams, the No. 4 ranked class 2A Eureka Lady Tornadoes rose to the occasion, knocking off the No. 4 ranked class 3A Burlington Lady Cats 59–52 in a hard- fought battle last Friday night in Burlington.
Eureka won the opening tip and got right to work as sophomore Arabella Shepherd found senior Britta Mongeau open on the wing, and Mongeau knocked down a three pointer on the Lady Torna- does first possession. Bur lington answered quickly with an 8–0 run, pushing the tempo in transition and briefly turning the tables on Eureka. Senior Lydia Mason halted the surge with a strong baseline drive, and the teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter, with Burlington holding a slim onepoint lead 14-15 after one.
Eureka found its rhythm in the second quarter. Senior Alaina Westerman scored the Tornadoes’ first basket of the period on a well-timed pass from Brenna Rucker, sparking a 6–0 Eureka run. Rucker was relentless defensively, creating constant pressure as the Lady Tornadoes held Burlington to just six points in the quarter to take a 27-21 lead heading into halftime.
The Lady Cats struck first after the break, but Eureka responded with balanced scoring, getting contributions from five different players. Rucker led the charge with eight points in the quarter as the Tornadoes built a 13-point advantage. Burlington’s Specter refused to let the game slip away, knocking down two consecutive three-pointers to keep the Cats within striking distance. Eureka led 4334 entering the fi nal period.
Rucker opened the fourth quarter with a steal and score, and the teams traded baskets over the next several minutes. Eureka’s pressure defense proved pivotal late, as the Tornadoes forced back-toback turnovers and converted them into points. Burlington continued to battle behind hot shooting from beyond the arc, trimming the margin to three with just over a minute remaining. With 1:12 left, Rucker found Mason wide open in the corner, and the senior calmly drained a clutch three-pointer to swing momentum back to Eureka. Burlington was forced to foul down the stretch, and the Lady Tornadoes capitalized at the free-throw line to seal the 59–52 victory.
Rucker recorded her second straight double-dou- ble, finishing with 24 points and 11 rebounds while also adding four assists, eight steals and two blocked shots. Mongeau poured in a season-high 18 points, while Mason added six. Westerman finished with four points, Shepherd chipped in three points and four assists, Hannah Perrier scored three, and Elle Coulter added one With the win, Eureka improved to 8–0 on the season and returned to action on Monday of this week in the “War on 54” tournament, opening play against Anderson County at 5 p.m. in Iola.
