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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Four Panthers scored in double-figures and Eastern Illinois women's basketball cut an 18-point second-half deficit to three in the final minute, but UTEP held on for an 84-80 victory Friday evening in the Preseason WNIT consolation round.
The Panthers (0-2) will play Northern Colorado Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Arkansas-Little Rock defeated UNC, 55-43, in nightcap of Friday's doubleheader at the Stephens Center.
UTEP (1-1) connected on 14 3-pointers and shot 54 percent from behind the arc. It was the most 3-pointers by an EIU opponent since a November 2006 loss at Illinois State (15).
Dominique Sims led EIU with 17 points. Maggie Kloak and Ta'Kenya Nixon both finished with 15 and Kelsey Wyss chipped in 10. Nine of the 10 Panthers that saw action scored.
Eastern shot 51 percent (24-of-47) from the field and 80 percent (28-of-35) at the free throw line, scoring 40 points in both halves. The Panthers made twice as many free throws as UTEP, but the Miners outscored EIU 42-12 from 3-point land. Eastern did enjoy a 36-24 rebounding advantage.
Six different UTEP players made a 3-pointer, Jareica Hughes and Dietra Caldwell both connecting on four. Hughes and Caldwell were the Conference USA Player and Freshman of the Year in 2009, respectively. The duo finished with a combined 32 points, but the Miners also had four players score in double-figures.
“I hate being that type of team that digs itself a hole and then decides to play hard,” EIU head coach Brady Sallee said. “We've got to play with that sense of urgency before we get to that point. That's just not going to cut it. What we're doing defensively is trying to learn what we're after. We've got to get better. I think we showed strides in the second half and played a little more under control. But then we went through a stretch where we turned the ball over.
“I'm not concerned about what we're doing offensively. I think we can be more efficient. We're still forcing some things at times and I think our assist numbers show it. Once we learn to play with each other better, I think you'll see those numbers go up. I liked what we did on the boards. That was the challenge I put in front of our team, to come out and be an Eastern Illinois basketball team that really rebounds it.”
The Panthers forced Hughes to make a free throw with three seconds remaining to make it a two-possession game. Eastern had used a 9-3 surge in the final three minutes to leave the outcome in doubt until Hughes sealed the win for her team.
With six seconds remaining, Kloak grabbed an offensive rebound after a missed free throw by Sims. Kloak was fouled on the put back attempt and made both free throws to make it a three-point game.
Trailing by 18 with 9:38 remaining, the Panthers got back in the game with a 16-5 run. Six different EIU players scored during the surge. UTEP's final 3-pointer of the game came at the 7:49 mark during the run.
Eastern outscored the Miners 25-13 after the midpoint of the second half and 40-35 in the game's final 20 minutes.
UTEP took control of the game with a 15-6 run early in the second half. Hughes accounted for 11 of the 15 points and capped the surge with a four-point play when she was fouled on a made 3-pointer at the 12:59 mark.
Although EIU never led, the first half featured quite a bit of back-and-forth action. The Miners made nine of their 14 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. A pair of short spurts, 7-0 and 8-0, helped UTEP build a 13-point advantage. But Sims connected on a pair of 3-pointers in the final two minutes to it make a nine-point game heading to the locker room.
The Panthers are currently in the midst of a stretch of five games in 10 days. Saturday's game against Northern Colorado will be game two of the busiest segment of the 2009-10 schedule.
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Ben Turner, Asst. SID
