CHARLESTON, Ill. – In a game that featured a combined 50 personal fouls and 65 free throw attempts, Ta'Kenya Nixon scored 18 of her game-high 20 points in the second half to lead Eastern Illinois women's basketball to a 66-58 victory against Western Michigan Wednesday evening at Lantz Arena.

With the win, the Panthers (5-3) extended their nonconference home win streak to 11 consecutive games.

 

Eastern scored 30 of its 66 points at the free throw line, but shot only 64 percent at the charity stripe. The 47 attempts were one shy of the program's single-game record.

 

“At the end of the day, we had to take what Western Michigan was going to give us,” EIU head coach Brady Sallee said. “If they were going to hand check and try to play that physical, then we had to get it to the rim and we had to throw it into the post and live on the free throw line. If we had made [more] free throws, it wouldn't have even been a game. We've won a lot of games by drilling people on the free throw line, that's nothing new for us.”

 

The Panthers did not make a 3-pointer for the first time during Sallee's six-year tenure.

Nixon was 10-of-14 at the line and recorded four assists versus only one turnover, which came on an offensive foul on the final possession of the first half. Her 20 points represent a season-high by an EIU player. Dominique Sims scored 11 of her 15 points in the first half. Maggie Kloak added 12 points and Chantelle Pressley chipped in 10.

Taylor Manley led WMU (3-5) with 18 points, connecting on four of her team's eight 3-pointers. Eastern held Miame Giden, the Broncos' leading scorer this season, to only 9 points – all coming in the second half. Giden entered the night averaging 19 points per game.

 

Western Michigan made one additional field goal than EIU, but shot just 29 percent. In each of the Panthers' last two victories, the opposing team has been below 30 percent from the field. The Broncos compensated for their poor shooting by collecting 16 offensive rebounds, turning them into 23 second-chance points.

 

Eastern helped keep the visitors in the game with a 6-of-12 showing at the free throw line in the game's final 70 seconds. Additionally, the WMU bench was called for two technical fouls in the contest. However, EIU missed all four free throws after the T's.

 

Nixon was the only Panther to connect on a field goal in the final 15 minutes of the game. Twenty-three of EIU's 31 points scored during that stretch were via free throws. Nixon accounted for eight consecutive points for her team in crunch time, highlighted by a pair of layups after WMU had cut the Panthers' lead to one on a 3-pointer by Molly Dwyer at the 2:32 mark.

 

“We were so putrid offensively, we had to take advantage of our transition points because that was about the only way we could score; I wasn't even sure about free throws,” Sallee said. “I wasn't going to put the brakes on [Nixon] tonight and try to run plays. Our best offense tonight was her pushing the ball and creating plays. Luckily, she plays like anything but a freshman. She pulled the ball out when I needed her to, took care of the ball. I think the story of the game was we had Ta'Kenya and they didn't.”

 

Eastern held off the Broncos multiple times after going ahead for good with a 12-0 run in the first half. Despite trailing by as many as 11, WMU made it a one-possession game five times in the second half.

 

Western Michigan suffered through a six and a half minute field goal drought during EIU's 12-0 run. However, the Panthers went even longer without scoring from the field, a span of nearly eight minutes wrapping around halftime. Yet the Broncos only enjoyed a 9-4 scoring edge amidst EIU's struggles.

 

Nixon accounted for eight points during a 9-2 run that led to the 11-point lead at the 6:46 mark. Western Michigan eventually answered with a 7-0 spurt, culminating with the 3-pointer by Dwyer.

Eastern returns to action Saturday when it hosts Indiana State at 4 p.m. The 7-1 Sycamores suffered their first loss of the season Wednesday, losing to Butler 67-60 in Terre Haute.

More Info: Contact Ben Turner, Asst. SID