The game was played in front of 2,358 fans, a new school record for a women's basketball game. Both teams played an exciting brand of hustle-heavy, up-and-down basketball.
Huffman was the lone Panther to score in double-figures, but
Dominique Sims (8 points),
Lindsey Kluempers (8) and
Ashley Thomas (7) made the most of their minutes. Kluempers connected on a pair of second-half 3-pointers after making just one trey in her first two seasons.
Illinois' size advantage up front, however, neutralized
Rachel Galligan, EIU's leading scorer a year ago. Galligan was held to just four points on 2-of-9 shooting.
The Panthers did not shoot the ball well in general, connecting on just 32 percent of their field goals compared to Illinois' 53 percent clip. Led by Jenna Smith's 16-point, 19-rebound double-double, the Illini also dominated the rebounding margin, 46-24.
Eastern pulled within nine points on a jumper by Sims with 15:42 remaining in the game. However, Illinois' Chelsea Gordon helped her team withstand the EIU surge. Gordon scored all of her 17 points in the second half, including a stretch in which she accounted for all 14 of her team's points during a five and a half minute stretch.
The Panthers trailed at halftime 41-26 but got within single-digits thanks to six unanswered points. A pair of baskets by Sims and a layup by Huffman brought the crowd to their feet until Gordon took over.
Eastern got off to a sluggish start against the full-court defense of Illinois. The Panthers eventually began to attack the press and pulled within six points near the midpoint of the first half. But consecutive 3-pointers from Lacey Simpson and Rebecca Harris prevented EIU from getting any closer.
Huffman committed just two turnovers in a team-high 34 minutes, and EIU turned the ball over four fewer times as a team. Huffman scored nine of her 11 first-half points on 3-pointers. She took the ball aggressively to the basket after the halftime break though, and converted a handful of crowd-pleasing layups in traffic.
Lori Bjork led the Illini with 22 points, scoring all of her points from behind the arc (4-of-8) and at the free throw line (10-of-10).
The game marked the first meeting between the two schools in Charleston since 1980. New Illinois head coach Jolette Law was also victorious in her first game as the leader of the program.
The Panthers big opening weekend concludes Sunday with a 3 p.m. contest against Illinois State.
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Ben Turner, Asst. SID
