CHARLESTON, Ill. – Every Panther that saw action connected on a field goal and Eastern Illinois women's basketball shot 52 percent from the field in the second half, overcoming a two-point halftime deficit and defeating Tennessee Tech, 79-68, in Ohio Valley Conference action Monday evening at Lantz Arena.

Ta'Kenya Nixon led all scorers with a career-high 25 points, the most by a Panther this season. Maggie Kloak added 18 points. Both players finished one rebound shy of a double-double. Nixon also tallied six assists and six steals in 37 minutes. Dominique Sims chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds.

Tacarra Hayes and Kellie Cook both scored 22 points for Tech (6-7, 1-2 OVC). Cook scored 17 in the first half and Hayes had 15 in the second half. Cook scored 17 of her team's first 26 points.

The Panthers (7-8, 3-1 OVC) won the game with a 16-3 run over a stretch of four and half minutes late in the game, breaking open a contest that was tied 56-56 at the seven-minute mark. Five different EIU players scored during the surge.

 

“The way we would like to play is definitely sharing that basketball,” EIU head coach Brady Sallee said. “But when they were pressing, we had to attack. We're not going to be that set-it-up team like we've been. But I think we did a better job in the second half of looking and seeing when to attack and when to set up and run [the offense]. We just played a smarter second half. Because of that we shot a better percentage, they couldn't press as much and everything went the way we needed it to.”

 

Sydney Mitchell gave the Panthers a boost off the bench early in the second half, scoring all seven of her points during a 13-2 run in the first six minutes after the intermission. That gave EIU a nine-point lead, its biggest of the game at the time.

 

Eastern enjoyed a 43-31 rebounding advantage and outscored Tech 40-24 in the paint. The Panthers enjoyed a 28-9 scoring edge at the free throw line, but the Golden Eagles outscored EIU 21-3 from 3-point land. Ashley Thomas hit a 3-pointer for the first basket of the game. It turned out to be EIU's only 3-pointer of the night. Cook made four of Tech's seven triples.

 

Nixon, Kloak and Sims teamed up to make 26 of EIU's 28 free throws.

 

“It was a lot of transition; they pressed us, so we had to beat that press,” Kloak said. “We were trying to get to the rim. It was a pretty fast-paced game. After a while, we talked about it and [decided] to start running some offense and slow them down a little bit; because we were just going with it, up-and-down the court. I think the guards did a great job of getting [the ball] in the post because their help side wasn't really there much tonight.”

 

Kelsey Wyss ignited the game-deciding run with a three-point play at the 6:46 mark. Tech's only field goal during the 16-3 EIU run was scored by Hayes a minute later. The Golden Eagles pulled within seven points twice in the final two minutes, but would get no closer.

 

After the Panthers went ahead by nine with their early second-half run, Tech got back in it with a 14-5 surge. Hayes accounted for nine of TTU's 14 points.

 

Tech used a 7-0 spurt to turn a four-point deficit into a three-point lead midway through the first half. Other than four ties scores, the Golden Eagles led for the rest of the half. Tech shot 52 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes, while EIU scored 17 of its 34 first-half points at the charity stripe.

 

Eastern and TTU will rematch Jan. 28 in Cookeville. The 23 days between games represents the shortest amount of time between regular-season meetings this year.

But first EIU concludes its three-game homestand Saturday against Southeast Missouri State. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.

More Info: Contact Ben Turner, Asst. SID