ELSAH, ILL. -- This afternoon the Principia College women's basketball team faced the Eureka College Red Devils in their 8th conference game of the season.  Having beat Eureka by 11 before Christmas, Principia came out hoping to take the season series to 2-0.  But Eureka came out looking for revenge, and played a game that showed why they are ranked 2nd in the conference.  Off to a poor start defensively, Principia struggled to stop Eureka's offense and soon found themselves down by several buckets.  Prin also struggled early offensively, missing several shots they were used to hitting.  In fact, Eureka outshot Principia by 21%, shooting 50% from the field to Prin's 29%.  Eureka also out-rebounded Prin in the first half 20-9.  Prin stayed alive with the offensive production of senior captain Lindsay Sydness, but even her dominance inside couldn't combat the slow defense of the Principia squad.

The 2nd half was more of the same, with both teams essentially matching their 1st half scores.  Sydness played with a great sense of urgency, and some solid hustle from junior captain Sarah Corbitt and freshman forward Karina Olsen lit some spark for the team, but overall Eureka captured and held the momentum.  Freshman forward Torie DeNicholas had a nice offense run toward the end of the game (she ended with 8 points and 6 boards) and the entire team worked hard until the final buzzer.  In fact, Principia showed huge improvement in the turnover category (they tied Eureka with 15) and will look to improve even more in that area in games to come.  Lindsay Syndess led in all statistical categories this afternoon with 17 points, 9 boards, 5 assists and 2 blocks.

Principia plays next against conference leader Westminster College on Tuesday, January 24th.  The game is at Westminster and is scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm.