Panthers featured in NCAA.com blog

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois women's basketball raced out to a 15-0 lead behind a double-double performance from Dominique Sims, blowing open a 78-47 victory against Austin Peay early and clinching the Ohio Valley Conference title outright in the process Thursday evening at Lantz Arena.

The Panthers (20-9, 15-2 OVC) posted their 20th win of the season, reaching the 20-win plateau in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1981-82 and 1982-83. Having lost to APSU (11-17, 10-7 OVC) in the first meeting back in December, EIU has now posted at least one victory against every OVC rival this season.

 

“There was nothing that had to be said [before the game],” Sims said. “This is Austin Peay. We lost to them in the championship game [of the OVC Tournament] last year and we lost to them in the beginning of the season. We just needed to go out there and just play. We constantly kept battling. Defensive stops and rebounds are what got us there.”

 

The Panthers have won eight straight games at home and have a chance to be a perfect 9-0 in OVC play at Lantz Arena this year with a victory Saturday in the regular-season finale.

 

Eastern head coach Brady Sallee hugged his assistant coaches, Lee Buchanan and Quacy Timmons, after the final buzzer sounded. He called it a four-person hug afterwards, as both the team and coaching staff took time to honor the memory of assistant coach Jackie Moore, who passed away unexpectedly 10 days before the season began in November.

Sims finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, posting her fourth career double-double. Ta'Kenya Nixon put together another solid all-around performance, registering 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. The point guard looked to push the ball early and often and was the primary reason why EIU enjoyed a 20-2 edge in fast-break points. Mariah King and Sydney Mitchell both connected on six field goals and finished with 12 points apiece off the bench.

 

Jasmine Rayner lead APSU with a 14-point, 14-rebound double-double. She collected 13 of her boards on the offensive end of the floor. Ashley Herring scored 13 points but was 5-of-17 from the field. The Lady Govs tallied only seven assists on their 18 field goals and connected on just one 3-pointer.

 

Eastern's 56 rebounds, including 29 O-boards, represent a single-game high during Sallee's six-year tenure. The Panthers enjoyed a 31-17 edge in second-chance points.

Sims hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored nine points in the first four minutes of the game. Austin Peay didn't score until Herring connected on a jumper at the 15:40 mark of the first half.

 

“If you can start off a game like that, you're going to be pretty successful,” Sallee said. “I knew this team was ready to play on Wednesday, I thought we could have tipped it up then. I almost had to pull the reigns on them a little bit to keep them from being the tar out of each other in practice. We were just ready to play and it showed the first four or five minutes. We came out like gangbusters. Honestly, I don't think we let up at all. We just kept coming at them and no matter what they did I thought we had some pretty good answers for it. We played tough and that's what you've got to do against that team.”

 

Not only did EIU lead wire-to-wire but the lead never shrank below double figures after the 15-0 run to open the contest. After taking a 41-22 advantage to the locker room, the Panthers' lead dipped below 20 points only once in the second half.

 

Sims scored 13 of her points in the first half and finished the game 7-of-14 from the field. Eastern turned APSU's 13 first-half turnovers into 23 points. The Lady Govs only had 10 points off EIU turnovers all game. The Panthers finished the game with 19 assists on their 33 field goals versus only 14 turnovers.

 

Mitchell led all scorers with 10 points in the second half. She has scored in double figures five times in EIU's seven games this month.

The Panthers host Tennessee State in Saturday's regular-season finale. The annual senior recognition day ceremonies will precede the 4 p.m. tipoff, with Marie Baker, Maggie Kloak, Lauren Sturtevant, Ashley Thomas and Sims being recognized for their contributions to Panther basketball. Eastern will also receive the conference championship trophy from OVC commissioner Beth DeBauche Saturday.