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CHARLESTON, Ill. – Sophomore Mariah King scored a team-high 22 points to lead Eastern Illinois over UT Martin in an overtime thriller, 88-85, at Lantz Arena on Thursday night.

With six seconds remaining in overtime, sophomore Sydney Mitchell sank the first of her two free throw attempts to give the Panthers (15-11, 10-5 OVC) an 86-85 lead. Mitchell would miss her second free throw, but UT Martin's Jasmine Newsome fumbled an outlet pass off the rebound by Perica Glenn to give EIU the ball back. The Skyhawks (16-10, 11-4 OVC) fouled King on the ensuing possession with two seconds remaining to give King two free throws she would ultimately drain, sealing the EIU victory.

The Panthers took an early 13-4 advantage over the Skyhawks to start the game before UT Martin used a 25-6 run to take their largest lead of the game, 29-19, at the 6:04 mark. A Kelsey Wyss three-point basket brought EIU within one (37-36) with 58 seconds before halftime, but UT Martin hit a basket on their next possession to take a 39-36 advantage into the locker room.

The second stanza was back and forth as the half had four lead changes and seven ties. Trailing by seven (74-67) at the 4:28 mark, EIU fought back with a 9-2 run capped by a Jordyne Crunk three pointer with 59 seconds left in regulation to knot the game at 76. UT Martin had a chance to win the game on a Jaclissa Haislip three-point shot as timed expired, but Wyss blocked the attempt to send the game to overtime.

Wyss chipped in a career-high 21 points, going 7-for-11 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. The Hoagland, Ind., native also grabbed five rebounds and was 3-for-6 from behind the arc. Wyss is now in a four-way tie for seventh place in EIU single-season history for made three pointers as she has 44 on the season.

Mitchell scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists in the victory. Chantelle Pressley added a team-high 10 rebounds and scored eight points. King also had six rebounds and a game-high three blocks.  

Crunk only had four points on the night, but recorded a career-high eight assists to go along with four rebounds. Sophomore Ta'Kenya Nixon had her 20-game streak of scoring in double figures snapped as she tallied eight points. The Michigan City, Ind., native also had four assists and two rebounds.

The Panthers out rebounded the Skyhawks by two (43-41) and had five more blocks (6-1). EIU also scored 25 points off 16 UT Martin turnovers.

EIU shot 47.8 percent from the floor (33-for-69) and was 33.3 percent from behind the arc (6-for-18). The Panthers were 16-for-22 from the foul line.

Haislip led the way for UT Martin, posting a double-double with a game-high 25 points and 12 rebounds. Newsome added 25 points and Heather Butler chipped in 10.

The Panthers close out the home portion of their 2010-11 schedule on Saturday, Feb. 19, against Murray State at 4 p.m.