Elsah, Ill. -- This afternoon the Principia College Panthers faced the Eureka Red Devils in their final home game of the season.  The last time for seniors Sarah Corbitt and Jocelyn Shoemake to play in Hayfield House, it was fitting to have Shoemake hit the first bucket for the Panthers with a sweet jumper from the elbow.  From then on, the Panthers played a near perfect 1st half, with all 5 players in sync on defense, locking the 3rd best team in the conference.  They were able to transfer their defensive energy into offensive production, and the scoring load was pretty evenly shared throughout the Principia squad.  Grabbing more rebounds and sinking more shots than the Red Devils, the Panthers were playing some of the best basketball of the season, but a couple clutch threes and a few more conversions from the charity stripe allowed Eureka to maintain a slim lead going into the locker room at half time.

    The 2nd half was less cohesive than the 1st, and the Panthers struggled to cut into the Red Devils' 9 point lead.  Then faced with a crucial turning point (Eureka forward Jaylynn Stewart fouled out) the Panthers failed to grab hold of the momentum, and quickly found themselves down 15.  From then on Eureka controlled the game, and while the Panthers continued to play some solid basketball, the Red Devils ran away with the lead.  With a great home crowd turn out, to Panthers brought their last home game of the season to a close, with 4 players in double figures, more rebounds and more assists than the Red Devils, and a turnover stat below their season average.  Significant statistical contributions include sophomores Karina Olsen and Becca DeNicholas both with 11 points, and 10 and 4 rebounds respectively.  Sophomore forward Jessica Bushong had a collegiate career high 13 points to which she added 6 boards and two blocks.  And in her final home game of the season Sarah Corbitt had 10 points, 10 boards and a game high 7 assists.

    The Panthers play the last game of their season on Tuesday, February 19th at Westminster College.  Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 pm.