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EASTERN ILLINOIS (1-2) vs. Bradley (1-2)

Nov. 22, 2010 • Noon (CST)
Lantz Arena • Charleston, Ill.
Radio: Hit Mix 88.9 FM

GAME 4
Eastern Illinois returns home for a Monday afternoon matinee with Bradley in the Panthers second Kid's Day game. School aged children from the area schools will be on hand to cheer on the Panthers with more than 1,500 area students scheduled to be at the contest. This will be the second time in three years EIU has played this afternoon Kid's Day game. The last time was 2008 when EIU beat SMU, 71-65 in overtime. EIU comes into the game with a 1-2 record having lost at Illinois State on Thursday. Bradley is also 1-2 having lost vs. Illinois on Friday.

EIU-BRADLEY SERIES
This will be the 30th meeting between Eastern Illinois and Bradley with the Panthers holding a 16-13 series lead. Bradley has won the last two games in the series with the last EIU win coming in the 2006-07 season opener, a 98-75 Panthers victory. The two schools did not play last season.

SCOUTING BRADLEY
Bradley enters the game with a 1-2 record with the Braves coming off of back-to-back losses to Big Ten Conference schools. The Braves knocked off Butler in the season opener before falling at Iowa and against Illinois State. Raisa Taylor leads Bradley with 14 points per game while Latasha Hollingshed and Katie Yohn are averaging 13 points per game. The Braves are winning the battle on the boards by 2.7 rebounds per game.

NIXON-LESS PANTHERS FALL AT ILLINOIS STATE
Eastern Illinois played without point guard Ta'Kenya Nixon and the Panthers offense struggled early to find any momentum during an 84-53 loss at Illinois State. EIU shot just 20 percent in the first half as the Panthers trailed 40-17 at the break. Freshman Jackie Herman came off the bench in the second half and provided some spark with 16 points hitting 4-of-10 from 3-point range. Three other players scored in double figures while Chantelle Pressley pulled down seven rebounds.

HERMAN PROVIDES SECOND HALF SPARK
Jackie Herman already had the privilege of being the first player from her high school to earn a Division I scholarship. Now the performance from playing in her first collegiate game will probably rank right up there. Herman came off the bench in the second half at Illinois State and sank 4-of-10 3-pointers as she ended the game as the Panthers leading scorer with 16 points. Herman ended the day 5-of-12 from the field and pulled down two rebounds.

KING PROVIDING CONSISTENT OFFENSE
Sophomore Mariah King ended the 2010 season being shutout offensively in the Panthers final two games. This season King has been the team's most consistent offensive player as she has scored in double figures in each of EIU's three games. King scored 12 points in the opener at Western Michigan. She added 11 in the win over Missouri and tossed in ten points on Thursday at Illinois State. She currently ranks fourth on the team in average at 11 points per game while leading the team in field goal percentage at 46.7 percent.

MITCHELL GETS TO THE STRIPE
Sophomore Sydney Mitchell has done a good job of getting to the free throw line this season and an even better job of converting those opportunities. Mitchell was 6-of-7 from the stripe at Illinois State on Thursday and currently leads the team with 13-of-15 (86.7) attempts. The only other player with double digit makes is Ta'Kenya Nixon who is 10-of-14. This season nearly half of Mitchell's points have come from the line as she is averaging 9 points per game. She is 9th in the OVC in free throw percentage.

WALKER GETS FIRST CAREER START
Junior Pilar Walker was called upon for her first career start at Illinois State as the status of sophomore point guard Ta'Kenya Nixon is listed as day-to-day with a strained knee. Walker herself missed the final 18 games of last season with a torn ACL but stepped in to play 32 minutes. She was limited to only three points scored but did pull down a career-high six rebounds and fell one assist shy of her career high with six. For her career Walker is averaging 2.9 points per game and 1.5 assists per game, shooting 48.6 percent from the field.

ALL PLAYERS SEE ACTION AT ILLINOIS STATE
Eastern Illinois had all 13 players that were available to play see action on Thursday at Illinois State. It was the first collegiate action for Jackie Herman (16 points) and Brittany Cochran (1 minute). The Panthers currently have one of the youngest benches in the nation as they do not have a veteran player to come off the bench with the absence of Ta'Kenya Nixon. Without Herman's 16 points, EIU only had four points scored off the bench at ISU. Hillary Held tossed in her first career points while Jessica Parker added two points in 30 minutes of action. EIU's newcomers are averaging a combined 17 points per game (27 percent of team scoring).