The Eureka Lady Tornadoes opened postseason play in dominant fashion last Thursday night, hosting the Oxford Wildcats and advancing with an emphatic victory on their home floor.
Eureka controlled the game from the opening tip. After winning the jump ball, Elle Coulter wasted no time finding Brenna Rucker wide open in the lane for the game’s first basket. Oxford briefly stunned the home crowd by answering with a three-pointer, but that would be as close as the Wildcats would get.
The Lady Tornadoes regrouped immediately, putting together an 11-0 run to seize control. Oxford connected on another three to make it 13-6, but from there it was all Eureka. Five different Lady Tornadoes contributed during a 19-0 surge that blew the game open and gave the home team a commanding 32-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter brought more of the same. Eureka’s defense clamped down, allowing just one point while pouring in 21 of their own to take a 53-7 lead into halftime.
The Lady Tornadoes stayed hot in the third quarter, knocking down four three-pointers. Rucker, Coulter, and Britta Mongeau combined for 12 points from beyond the arc, while Milly Koop went to work inside for five points. After three quarters, Eureka held a 74-9 advantage.
With a running clock in the fourth quarter, both teams managed just one basket as the Lady Tornado bench saw extended action to close out the contest.
Rucker led all scorers with 25 points. Mongeau added 16, while Coulter, Koop, and Lydia Mason each chipped in nine. Hannah Perrier scored four, and Sydney Lindamood and Amorette Guillaume finished with two each.
Koop led the team on the glass with seven rebounds. Coulter filled the stat sheet with a team-high eight assists and five steals.
With the win, Eureka advanced to semifinal action Tuesday night at home, where the Lady Tornadoes took on Chase County as postseason play continued. The winner will advance to the sub-state championship on Friday, March, 7 at Northeast Arma.
