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MURRAY, Ky. – Led by a double-double performance from Maggie Kloak, Eastern Illinois women's basketball rallied for its first victory at Murray State since 2002, 76-71, and in the process clinched its first-ever Ohio Valley Conference championship title Saturday afternoon.
The win coupled with Eastern Kentucky's victory at second-place Morehead State Saturday locked up at least a share of the regular-season crown for the Panthers (19-9, 14-2 OVC). Holding a potential tiebreaker with Morehead, EIU is assured of the top seed in next month's OVC Tournament and a national postseason berth in either the NCAA Tournament or WNIT.
For the sixth time this season, every Panther that saw action connected on a field goal. The EIU bench contributed 26 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field, including all three 3-pointers the team made.
Kloak finished with 20 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots. It was her fourth double-double and sixth 20-point effort at EIU. She was 8-of-10 at the free throw line in the second half to finish the game 12-of-14. Her totals for rebounds, blocks and free throws made were all career highs.
“I think we knew Murray was going to give us their best shot tonight,” Kloak said. “This time of the year, we have to get wins and everyone is in that same position. We put up a fight tonight and so did they, and that's what made the game so close.
“It feels great obviously [to be conference champs]. But we want to get out there next week and get two more wins. We're ready to keep going and roll through the tournament as well.”
Fellow senior Ashley Thomas scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half. She made a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal the win by making it a two-possession game.
Eastern enjoyed a decisive 53-32 edge in rebounding, turning its 19 offensive rebounds into a 23-5 advantage in second-chance points. The Panthers also outscored MSU 38-22 in the paint.
Eastern improved defensively in the second half, responding after giving up 49 points in the opening 20 minutes. It was the biggest half by an EIU opponent since December 2006. The Racers (12-15, 7-9 OVC) finished the game 13-of-23 from 3-point land, making 10 triples in the first half. However, after making its 12th 3-pointer of the game at the 12:30 mark of the second half, MSU didn't score again from behind the arc until there were six seconds left in the game.
“I thought from a defensive standpoint, we were as good as we have been as of late in the second half,” EIU head coach Brady Sallee said. “We turned them into a team that put it on the floor and tried to dribble their way into points, and did a good job of defending that. What we did rebounding the ball, that's the way you win games. You defend and you rebound. The equation was exactly how we wanted to win the game. I'm really proud of this team for stepping up and doing what they did in the second half.”
The Panthers limited Murray to 26 percent shooting from the field in the second half. Eastern only shot 27 percent after the break, but had a 14-3 scoring edge at the line in the final 20 minutes.
In a contest that featured 12 ties and 18 lead changes, EIU won the game with a 16-9 scoring edge in the game's final 10 minutes. Kloak and Thomas each scored six points during that timeframe. For a 12-minute stretch of the second half, neither team led by more than three points.
Murray State's Kayla Vance connected on consecutive layups on the left side of the basket to tie the game at 68-68 with 1:50 remaining. Eastern point guard Ta'Kenya Nixon responded by taking the ball the length of the floor and getting fouled on a dribble drive to the basket. She made both free throws to put EIU up for good. After a missed jump shot on MSU's next possession, Nixon made another key play when she setup a layup for Dominique Sims on a two-on-one fastbreak.
Kloak made a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left after EIU had gotten two more defensive stops and cleared the rebounds. With six seconds left, Kayla Lowe cut the Panthers' lead in half with a 3-pointer. But EIU was able to get the ball inbounded, Thomas running more than three seconds off the clock before getting fouled near halfcourt.
Kloak scored the game's first points but MSU jumped ahead early with a 10-2 spurt and went up by nine with just over six minutes gone by. Eastern counterpunched with a 15-3 run and neither team led by more than four until the final minute. Five different Panthers scored during the 15-3 surge.
With the win, EIU swept the season series from the Racers for the first time since 2002. Murray was the only OVC team to defeat the Panthers twice last season.
Eastern has not played in a national postseason game since losing to Colorado in the first round of the 1988 NCAA Tournament. The Panthers opened the season in the Preseason WNIT but have their sights set on concluding their conference-championship campaign in the NCAAs.
Nixon tied EIU freshman records for rebounds and free throws attempted Saturday. She has now broken or tied five EIU freshman marks this season.
Eastern returns to action Thursday when it hosts Austin Peay at 5:30 p.m.
