Box Score

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SACRAMENTO, Calif.  – The Eastern Illinois women's basketball team dropped its first game of the year, falling at Sacramento State, 89-85, on Saturday afternoon at The Nest. EIU falls to 4-1 on the year.
 
The contest was back and forth as the game saw 13 ties and nine lead changes.
 
EIU led by as much as 13 (26-13) at the 10:54 mark in the first half, but the Hornets stormed back late in the half to take a 44-43 advantage into the locker room. Sacramento State connected on 51.4 percent of their shots in the first stanza.
 
The Panthers had an 83-82 lead with 1:32 left in the game, but Sacramento State closed the game with a 7-2 run to hand EIU its first loss of the season.
 
Mariah King paced the Panthers with her first career double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing a career high 15 rebounds. Sydney Mitchell also had 16 points while Ta'Kenya Nixon and Kelsey Wyss both added 14 points. Defensively, Nixon and Chantelle Pressley each had eight rebounds.
 
Kylie Kuhns led Sacramento State with 11 points and 10 rebounds while Fantasia Hilliard scored a team-high 16 points.
 
EIU shot 40 percent from the floor in the loss to Sacramento State's 48.5 percent clip. The Panthers went 4-for-22 from behind the arc and made 65.6 percent of their shots from the charity stripe (21-for-32).
 
The Panthers won the battle on the boards, out rebounding the Hornets 55-35.
 
The Panthers return to action inside Lantz Arena when they play host to in-state rival Western Illinois on Dec. 5.