The Panthers (0-1) will now play in the consolation round of the Preseason WNIT. The sites of the two, four-team consolation pods will be announced Saturday. Eastern is guaranteed of two games in the consolation round, expected to be played Nov. 20 and 21.

 

Ohio State (1-0) advances to play Bowling Green Sunday in Columbus. BGSU defeated Chicago State Friday night.

 

Nine of the 11 Panthers that saw action scored, including all four freshmen. Kelsey Wyss led the way with 12 points in her collegiate debut. She was one of four EIU players to connect on a pair of 3-pointers, as the Panthers made nine as a team.

 

“Kelsey came out and played the way that we feel she's capable of playing,” EIU head coach Brady Sallee said. “She knocked down some shots, played aggressively and didn't back down to the pressure. I was proud of the way she played.”

 

Ta'Kenya Nixon added 10 points and the trio of Maggie Kloak, Chantelle Pressley and Pilar Walker each finished with eight.

 

Nixon, the lone EIU freshman to start, finished with a team-high five assists and only two turnovers in 32 minutes.

 

Preseason All-American Jantel Lavender led OSU with a 24-point, 13-rebound double-double. Sarah Schulze made three of her team's six 3-pointers and finished with 18 points.

 

Eastern shot 40 percent (26-of-65) from the field but only 44 percent (7-of-16) at the free throw line. The Buckeyes shot 83 percent (19-of-23) at the line and 52 percent from the field in the second half to finish at 44 percent for the game.

 

Ohio State collected 59 total rebounds, the most by an EIU opponent since February 2007.

 

The Panthers played OSU even for the first four and half minutes, and the game was tied 8-8 at the first media timeout. But the Buckeyes responded with a 19-0 run, taking the lead for good as EIU went scoreless for seven minutes.

 

Sydney Mitchell ended the scoring drought with a 3-pointer at the 8:23 mark, the Panthers' first basket of the night from behind the arc. It led to a 9-0 spurt and a 16-2 run over the next five minutes. Five different EIU players scored during the surge, including all four freshmen. Wyss made three baskets during the run to account for seven of the 16 points.

 

“The thing that hurt us was their offensive rebounds and second-chance opportunities, and us turning it over and playing in transition,” Sallee said. “The two things that we wanted to keep them from doing they did in that stretch (19-0 run). Once we got that figured out, we went on our own run and did some good things.”

 

Having cut a 19-point deficit to five at the final media timeout of the first half, Eastern was back in the game. Ohio State answered with six quick points to regain its double-figure advantage. Two 3-pointers by Walker in the final two minutes of the first half made it a 10-point game going to the locker room.

 

Eastern pulled within eight on a 3-pointer by Pressley early in the second half, but would get no closer. The Buckeyes counterpunched with a 10-0 run and put the game away with an 11-3 surge.

 

Ranked third in both national polls, Ohio State is believed to be the highest-ranked team EIU has ever played. It was also the Panthers' first game since the unexpected death of their assistant coach, Jackie Moore, Nov. 4 in Charleston. The team has made plans to attend Moore's funeral Saturday in her hometown of Windsor, Ontario.

The WNIT consolation round opponents will be determined by other quarterfinal results Friday. The opponent, date and time for EIU's next game will be announced Saturday.