Eutectics Rout Wildcats as Beyer Exceeds 3,000 Career Points

The Eutectics Women's Basketball Team travelled to Atchison, Kan., on Friday to take part in the Holiday Inn Express Classic hosted by Benedictine College. The Euts faced Baker University (Kan.) in their first matchup on Friday, overtaking the Wildcats, 68-42, with dominant UHSP quarters bookending the game. En route to yet another milestone, Grace Beyer notched a double double with 37 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and five steals to surpass 3,000 career points.

The Eutectics took control from the start, forcing turnovers and draining shots to take a 10-point lead (12-2) after five minutes. By the end of the first quarter, Baker seemed to have awakened, but had barely cut into the UHSP lead at 16-8.

The Eutectics maintained that lead well into the second quarter, up 21-11 two-and-a-half minutes in. Still 21-11 five minutes in, the Wildcats then began an 11-point run, connecting on two free throws and their next four shots to overtake the lead for the first and only time in the game (22-21). A Beyer bucket and a Wildcat free throw had the score tied at 23 with 1:40 left in the half. With :58 on the clock, Elizabeth Allanach found Samantha Mathews at the arc who drained a triple to put the Euts up by three. To seal the lead, Payten Foster dropped in two points off an assist from Beyer with 25 seconds left to head into intermission ahead 28-23.

The Eutectics played a solid third quarter going up 36-27 after five minutes. Beyer dropped in three free throws and a bucket to put the Euts up 43-29, then fed the ball to Foster for a two-point field goal in the span of 50 seconds to give the Euts their largest lead so far at 45-29 with 2:42 left in the third quarter. Baker scored seven more points before the quarter was finished, putting the Purple and Gold up 45-35 going in the final period.

The Eutectics held their lead early in the fourth quarter, up 53-38 with five minutes left in the game. But, it was the final three minutes that buried the Wildcats. With UHSP leading 55-40, Beyer would score all 13 of the Eutectics remaining points, going 7-for-7 from the charity stripe and dropping in three buckets, as the Purple and Gold held Baker to two points.

As mentioned, Grace Beyer surpassed the 3,000-point career mark in her 37-point game, now tallying 3,020.

Payten Foster dropped in 16 points for the Eutectics. Samantha Matthews pitched in six, Elizabeth Allanach recorded four, Karsyn Morgan scored three, and Emily Coleman had two.

The Eutectics, now 2-1, will continue at the Holiday Inn Express Classic on Saturday, when they take on host Benedictine College at 3 p.m.