Game Notes | Live Stats | Listen | Watch | ISU WBBall

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois women's basketball hosts Indiana State Saturday for the 52nd meeting in the storied all-time series, putting its 11-game nonconference home win streak on the line against the last non-Ohio Valley Conference team to win at Lantz Arena.

 

Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m., with the game set to be televised live on WEIU-TV.

 

The Panthers (5-4) have played ISU (7-1) more than any other team. As former rivals in the Gateway Conference, the two schools have squared off at least once every season of EIU's Division I era (1983-present) except 2005-06.

 

The Gateway merged with the Missouri Valley Conference following the 1991-92 campaign, with EIU moving to the Mid-Continent and later the OVC. Since becoming a nonconference series, the Sycamores have won 15 of the 16 games. Eastern's lone victory during that stretch was an overtime affair at Lantz Arena in November 2000.

 

The Panthers had a 33-30 halftime lead in the last meeting at Lantz (Nov. 29, 2007), only to see ISU shoot 71 percent on its way to a 55-point second half. When that game went final, EIU fell to 0-7 in what turned out to be the program's breakout season. Eastern has posted a 48-19 record since, including a 27-3 mark at home.

 

During its 11-game nonconference win streak at Lantz, the Panthers have beaten teams from the Horizon League, Mid-American Conference, Conference USA and the Summit League.

 

However, EIU will be looking to snap a six-game losing streak against Missouri Valley Conference competition this month. Illinois State also visits Charleston Dec. 22. The Panthers' last victory against a Valley opponent was in December 2006, defeating Creighton in a neutral-site game in Columbia, Mo.

 

Two years ago, Maggie Kloak and Dominique Sims enjoyed breakout games in the loss to the Sycamores. Both players made only their second career starts that night and combined for 31 points and 14 rebounds. Now seniors, EIU will need similar production from its second- and third-leading scorers this year.

 

Last season, the Panthers only suffered a pair of losses by more than 10 points, the first of the two coming against ISU in Terre Haute, 64-51. Kelsie Cooley scored a career-high 24 points, all on standard two-point field goals.

 

However, guard Kelsey Luna is the Sycamores' star player. Only nine months after suffering an ACL injury in February 2009, she scored a career-high 37 points in ISU's impressive season-opening win at Kansas State. She enters the weekend averaging 19.3 points per game thanks to a team-leading 20 3-poiners and a 38-of-39 showing at the free throw line. The St. Louis native also sports a two-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio and has more steals (24) than turnovers (13). As a freshman, Luna was 6-of-6 from 3-point land and scored 27 points against EIU in Terre Haute.

 

Indiana State also features Amanda Pedro, a reserve forward and Kelsey Wyss' former teammate at Bishop Luers High School.

 

The Sycamores opened the season 7-0 before losing at home to Butler, 67-60, Wednesday evening. Indiana State crushed EIU's OVC rival Southeast Missouri State, 72-28, Nov. 24 in Terre Haute.

 

Eastern and ISU have both been among the top academic teams in the country the last three seasons, ranking among the nation's Top 25 in team GPA.

Following Saturday's game, EIU is slated to have seven days off for final exams on campus before returning to action Sunday, Dec. 20 at Illinois-Chicago.