Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m. (CST) at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The winner of Friday's game advances to take on victor of the Bowling Green/Chicago State quarterfinal Sunday.
The Panthers will be taking the court for the first time for a game since learning of the death of assistant coach
Jackie Moore on Nov. 4. The third-year EIU assistant passed away unexpectedly last week at the age of 28. The EIU players and head coach Brady Sallee spoke at the memorial service celebrating Jackie's life Nov. 8 in Lantz Arena. The team plans on attending her funeral Saturday in her hometown of Windsor, Ontario.
Eastern will be wearing memorial “J.M.” patches on its jerseys this season. The Jackie Moore Memorial Scholarship has also been established by EIU athletics. The scholarship will be awarded to a rising junior on the women's basketball team beginning in the spring of 2010.
There are 16 teams participating in the 2009 Preseason WNIT. Nine of those 20 teams, including EIU and OSU, won 20-plus games last season. The eight teams that lose their opening-round games Friday will be regrouped into two, four-team consolation pods. Two teams will be selected to host those consolation pods next weekend, Nov. 20-21.
Eastern is participating in the Preseason WNIT for the first time. Samford, in November 2007, was the last Ohio Valley Conference team to represent the league in the season-opening tournament.
Friday's game in Columbus is being played at St. John Arena due to an Ohio State men's ice hockey game scheduled for Value City Arena, where OSU women's basketball plays the majority of its home games.
Ohio State has won five consecutive Big Ten Conference regular-season titles and made seven straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament. With two-time Big Ten Player of the Year Jantel Lavender headlining a group of 10 returning letter-winners, the Buckeyes were tabbed third in both national preseason polls.
Ohio State is believed to be the highest-ranked opponent EIU has ever played. The Panthers last opened a season against a nationally-ranked team in November 2005, taking on No. 22 USC in Hawaii. A November 2001 game at No. 10 Purdue marked the last time EIU squared off against a Top 10 team.
Eastern has played a Big Ten team in seven of the nine seasons this decade, with the exceptions being 2003-04 and 2006-07. Ohio State is one of four Big Team programs that EIU has never played. Iowa, Michigan and Penn State are the others.
The Buckeyes have two notable Illinois natives on their roster. Junior guard Alison Jackson was a teammate of
Maggie Kloak's at Fenwick High School in suburban Chicago. Junior guard Brittany Johnson, an Olney native, is expected to be a full-time starter this season after leading the team with 44 3-pointers last year. She was Illinois Miss Basketball as a high school senior in 2007.
The Panthers are 3-2 in season openers during Sallee's tenure and 5-8 in the program's OVC era (1997-present). Eastern defeated Miami (Ohio) at home in last year's opener.
Ashley Thomas was one of five EIU players to score in double-figures, finishing with 14 points.
The other opening-round games around the Preseason WNIT Friday includes: Northern Colorado at New Mexico, UTEP at Florida Gulf Coast, Winthrop at Georgia Tech, Arkansas-Little Rock at Oklahoma State, North Carolina A&T at Marist, Towson at West Virginia, and Chicago State at Bowling Green.
More Info: Contact
Ben Turner, Asst. SID
