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EASTERN ILLINOIS (16-11, 11-5) vs. Austin Peay (12-15, 11-5)
Feb. 24, 2011 • 5:15 p.m. (CST)
Dunn Center • Clarksville, Tenn.
Radio: Hit Mix 88.9 FM
GAME 28
Eastern Illinois faces Austin Peay on Thursday night for a pivotal Ohio Valley Conference game. The winner of the contest should secure the No. 4 seed in the upcoming OVC Tournament in Nashville and with that a first round bye. The loser will slide into the No. 5 seed and be forced to play an opening round game on Wednesday. EIU has won seven straight including a 68-55 win over Murray State on Saturday. The Panthers are now 16-11 overall, 11-5 in the OVC. Austin Peay is also on a winning streak of its own having won five straight following Saturday's win over first place Tennessee Tech. APSU is 12-16, 11-5 in the OVC.
EIU-AUSTIN PEAY SERIES
This will be the 33rd meeting between Eastern Illinois and Austin Peay in what has become one of the rivalry games in women's OVC action over the last couple of seasons. EIU won the OVC regular-season title last year with a 16-2 record but was denied an NCAA berth for the second straight season by Austin Peay as the Lady Govs knocked off the Panthers in the OVC Championship game. The two teams split the season series last year with each squad winning at home. EIU has already won the opening game this year 79-58. APSU leads the series 20-12.
SCOUTING AUSTIN PEAY
Austin Peay has won five straight games entering the weekend including a win at first place Tennessee Tech on Saturday. Whitney Hanley leads the Lady Govs with 12.5 points per game while Jasmine Rayner is scoring 10 per game.
SEEDING ON THE LINE
Eastern Illinois and Austin Peay meet on Thursday for a game that will help determine the OVC seeding. The winner will move into fourth in the OVC standings and could climb as high as third based on the outcome of Saturday's UT Martin/Morehead State game. The loser will fall to fifth and be headed for a first round game.
KING WINS SECOND STRAIGHT OVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD
Mariah King has found her groove for the season over the last four games as the sophomore won her second straight OVC Player of the Week Award on Monday. King averaged 22.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game as the Panthers picked up wins over UT Martin and Murray State. During the four game run King has averaged 21.8 points per game while shooting 63 percent (34-of-54) from the field. She has been solid at the free throw line hitting 19-of-21 including nine straight. King has also averaged 6.5 rebounds and 2 blocks per game.
NIXON ADDS ANOTHER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Ta'Kenya Nixon chalked up her sixth double-double of the season on Saturday with 15 points and 14 rebounds in the win over Murray State. It was the ninth double-double of the sophomore guard's career. The 14 rebounds marked a season high for Nixon who has six games this season with double figure rebounds. Nixon's double figure point output was the 22nd time this season. She currently ranks 4th in the OVC in scoring at 16.1 ppg and 8th in rebounding at 6.8. Nixon needs 22 points to reach 900 for her career.
WINNING SEASON CLINCHED
With the Panthers win on Saturday over Murray State on Saturday, the Panthers guaranteed themselves of finishing with a winning record for the fourth straight season. EIU has two regular-season games remaining along with the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and any possible post-season tournaments. The four straight winning campaigns is the longest for the program since posting 13 straight winning seasons from 1979 through 1991.
WYSS MAKES A JUMP IN SINGLE SEASON 3-POINT LIST
Kelsey Wyss sank four 3-pointers on Saturday against Murray State as she climbed several more spots on the EIU single season 3-pointers made list. Against UT Martin, the sophomore guard finally cracked the top ten landing in a tie for seventh. On Saturday she moved into fifth place by herself passing several players including Barb Perkes total of 47 from the 1988 season. Wyss now has 48 3-pointers this season which is seventh in the OVC in 3-pointers made per game. She does lead the conference in 3-point percentage at 40.3 percent.
MITCHELL ATTACKING THE GLASS
Sydney Mitchell continues to attack the glass as she pulled down 11 rebounds on Saturday against Murray State. Mitchell now has five games this season with double figure rebounds including a high of 14 against Florida Atlantic. She is averaging 6.7 rebounds per game with those numbers climbing to a team best 7.4 rebounds per game in OVC action. For the second straight year Mitchell has upped her play in the month of February averaging 10.2 points and 8 rebounds.
PANTHERS WIN STREAK IN THE NATION'S TOP 20
Eastern Illinois enters the weekend with the nation's 20th longest active win streak as the Panthers have won seven straight contests. The longest active streak is 21 games by Marist while Stanford has won 18 straight since Dec. 22 including a Dec. 30 win over Connecticut that ended UConn's 90 game win streak.
PANTHERS TOP SHOOTING TEAM IN CONFERENCE PLAY
EIU currently leads the OVC in field goal percentage and free throw percentage in conference play while ranking second in the league in 3-point percentage. EIU is shooting 43 percent from the floor and 75.6 percent from the line in OVC action.
