Wire-to-wire win as UHSP cruises to win over Trojans

HANNIBAL, MO – The Eutectics earned a sweep of the regular season series against in-state rival Hannibal-LaGrange as UHSP defeated the Trojans 80-49 on Thursday night. It was the eighth straight win for UHSP over HLGU. Aryanna Bull led four different Eutectics in double digits with 19 points. She pulled down ten boards as she and Reece Halley notched double-doubles. Halley had ten points and 11 rebounds.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

UHSP 80, HANNIBAL-LAGRANGE 49

• Both teams got off to slow starts in a low-scoring first quarter.  UHSP shot just 31% in the first quarter, but Hannibal-LaGrange only hit at 23%. The game went scoreless for the first 2:21 before the road team scored 12 of the first 14 points. It was 14-7 after one.
• UHSP hit eight field goals in the second quarter while HLGU connected on six. Kierstyn Beard recorded a season-high eight points for UHSP all of which game in the second quarter. After scoring five points in her nine games played combined, Beard has scored 31 points in her last nine games (3.4ppg). With 6:03 left, Halley made a layup to stretch the lead to 14 at 24-10. HLGU got within seven with 2:49 left, but the Eutectics led 32-21 at the half.
• The Eutectics outscored the Trojans 22-13 in the third. UHSP made nine field goals to just five for the home club and the UHSP starting quintet scored 17 of their 22 in the quarter. A minute and a half into the third, HLGU trimmed the deficit to six at 34-28 and threatened to make it a game. The Eutectics went on a 15-4 run to open up a 49-32 lead and finished the quarter outscoring the Trojans 20-6 the rest of the quarter to lead 54-34 after three.
• Alina Bowden scored eight straight points for UHSP to open the fourth before an Arianna Buduan triple made it 65-36 with 4:50 left. Buduan ended up scoring all ten of her points in the fourth quarter on 3-of-6 shooting including 2-for-4 from downtown.
• UHSP's 45.1% shooting from the floor was their highest percentage in the last 13 games. The Eutectics unloaded 16 more shots than HLGU, making 12 more. The Trojans shot 36.4% in the contest.
• The Eutectics dominated on the glass to the tune of 43-22. The 22 boards by HLGU were their fourth fewest in a game this year. UHSP had 18 offensive rebounds to Hannibal's six which led to the Eutectics dominating in the paint, outscoring HLGU 52-20.
• Arianna Buduan and Alina Bowden had ten points for UHSP. The combined to add 12 rebounds and three steals.
• Hannibal-LaGrange had two players in double figures led by Mykaela Elliott with 15 points. Candice Dowell added 13 points and a team-high six steals.
• UHSP improves to 15-11 all-time against Hannibal-LaGrange.

NEXT UP:

The three and four seeds in the upcoming AMC Tournament will likely be decided in Saturday's contest when the Eutectics (13-12, 10-5 AMC) entertain the Stephens Stars (11-13, 10-4). Stephens holds a half-game lead over UHSP in the AMC standings and currently sit in the three spot. Any chance the Eutectics have of earning the three-seed likely hinges on UHSP earning a win over the Stars. Stephens routed the Eutectics in their first meeting, 100-60 back on January 17. The Stars jumped out to a 22-4 lead in that contest and never trailed in the game earning their fifth straight win over UHSP. Tip time for the rematch is 1:00p on Saturday.