EIU Notes  |  EKU Notes  |   Listen Live  |  Live Stats  |  Watch Live

EASTERN ILLINOIS vs Eastern Kentucky
Feb. 6, 2012  •  7 p.m. 
Lantz Arena (5,300)  •  Charleston, Ill.
Radio: Hit Mix 88.9 FM • TV: WEIU
Ryan Piers, radio play-by-play

 GAME 24
The Panther women's basketball team looks to capture its second 20 win season in three years on Monday night, playing host to Eastern Kentucky at 7 p.m. inside Lantz Arena. EIU is 19-4 (10-0 OVC) and EKU is 11-11 (6-5 OVC).
 
EIU-EKU SERIES HISTORY
The all-time series between the two teams is tied at 14. Panther head coach Brady Sallee is 11-2 all-time against the Lady Colonels, including a 6-0 record inside Lantz Arena. EIU has won the last six meetings between the two teams.
 
PANTHERS UPEND EAGLES
Four Panthers scored in double figures to lead the Eastern Illinois women's basketball team over Morehead State, 78-58, on Saturday afternoon. Mariah King paced the group with 20 points and nine rebounds while Sabina Oroszova added 11 points. Both Sydney Mitchell and Ta'Kenya Nixon scored 10 points.
 
PANTHERS LOOKING FOR 20^th WIN OF SEASON
A win on Monday against Eastern Kentucky would give the Panthers their 20^th win of the season, eclipsing the 20-win plateau for the second time in three years and third time under head coach Brady Sallee. EIU had only two 20 win seasons since 1982 before the arrival of Sallee in 2004.
 
PANTHERS KEEP OVC WIN STREAK ALIVE
With the win over Morehead State on Saturday, the Panthers remain undefeated in OVC play with a 10-0 record. EIU has now won 19 consecutive OVC regular-season games dating back to last season. The last time the Panthers dropped a regular-season OVC game was on Jan. 27, 2011 when they lost at home to Tennessee Tech, 60-56.
 
PANTHERS WIN 12 IN A ROW
With the win over Morehead State, the Panthers have now won 12 consecutive games. EIU has its first double-digit win steak since the 2009-10 squad won a program-best 13 straight games.
 
SALLEE IN OVC GAMES
Under the direction of head coach Brady Sallee, the women's basketball team has posted an 88-52 record in Ohio Valley Conference games. EIU has won 82 percent of its OVC games since the start of the 2007-08 season with a 69-15 record.
 
SUCCESS INSIDE LANTZ ARENA UNDER BRADY SALLEE
Since head coach Brady Sallee took over the Panther women's basketball program, EIU has posted a 79-32 overall record inside Lantz Arena. The Panthers have posted a .810 winning percentage with a 60-14 record in home games since the start of the 2007-08 campaign.
 
PANTHERS IN OVC GAMES
EIU is has dominated its OVC foes this season, outscoring its opponents by 19 points per game. Defensively, the Panthers have a +13.3 rebounding margin while averaging eight steals per game and 4.1 blocks per game. EIU has also hit 45.1 percent of its shot attempts while holding opponents to a 34.7 field-goal percentage.
 
KING CLOSING IN ON 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Junior Mariah King is closing in on her 1,000th career point in a Panther uniform as she currently has 909 points. She would become the second member of the junior class to hit the career milestone as teammate Ta'Kenya Nixon became the 20th member of the 1,000-point club earlier this season.
  
PANTHERS SCORING IN THE PAINT
EIU scored 48 points in the paints in the win over Morehead State, netting 40 or more points in the paint for the fourth time in its last six games. The last time the Panthers scored 48 points in the paint was during their season-opening win over Oakland City.
 
PANTHER DEFENSE STEPS UP IN WIN OVER MOREHEAD STATE
The Panther defense did its part in Saturday's win over Morehead State, hold the Eagles to only 13 first-half points. The last time EIU held a team to 13 points in one half was on Dec. 17, 2011 in a road victory over IUPUI. EIU also held the Eagles without a basket in the final nine and a half minutes of the first half.
 
PANTHER DEFENSE SHUTS DOWN NATION'S LEADING REBOUNDER
Morehead State's Ashar Harris entered Saturday's contest averaging 13 rebounds per game, the highest mark in the nation. The Panther defense limited Harris to only two rebounds in the game while outrebounding the Eagles by 18.
 
THREE POINTER STREAK SNAPPED BY EAGLES
Entering Saturday's game with Morehead State, the Panthers had made a three pointer in 78 consecutive games dating back to Dec. 9, 2009. EIU failed to make a three pointer in the 20-point win, going 0-for-5 from behind the arc.
  
EIU ONE LINERS
• The Panthers shot over 50 percent from the floor for the second time in three games against Morehead State. EIU has shot over 50 percent from the floor on four occasions this season.
 
• When shooting over 40 percent from the floor, EIU is 13-0 this year. The Panthers have only shot under 40 percent once in their last 11 games, shooting 39.3 percent from the floor in a 70-63 win over UT Martin on Jan. 16.
 
• Senior Chantelle Pressley dished out a six assists in the win over Morehead State, tying her career high of six assists against Morehead State on Jan. 15, 2011 inside Lantz Arena.
 
• Senior Chantelle Pressley has won 84 games in a Panther uniform, the most by any women's basketball player in school history during the Division I era. Both the 1985 and 2010 classes compiled 76 wins.
 
• EIU grabbed 18 more rebounds than Morehead State on Saturday, outrebounding an opponent by 18 or more rebounds for the fourth time this season. EIU has a +9.8 rebounding margin and has only been outrebounded three times on the year.
 
•  Freshman Sabina Oroszova scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the win over Morehead State. The forward has now scored in double figures three times this season.
 
• Junior Mariah King scored 20 points in the win over Morehead State, scoring 20 or more points in a game for the eighth time in her career. The forward nearly missed her sixth double-double of the year as she also had nine rebounds.
 
• The Panthers currently lead the OVC in scoring defense (58.6 ppg), scoring margin (+14.9), field-goal percentage (.431), field-goal percentage defense (.364), rebounding margin (+9.8) while ranking second in scoring offense (73.4 ppg) and blocks (3.5 bpg).  

WYSS MOVES INTO THE CAREER CHARTS
Junior guard Kelsey Wyss currently has 110 made three pointers throughout her career, the eighth highest total in school history. The Hoagland, Ind., native only needs three more to pass Angie Patzner (1996-00) and move into seventh.
 
NXION IN THE CAREER CHARTS
Ta'Kenya Nixon has made 372 free throws in her career, the third most in school history. The Michigan City, Ind., native needs three more made free throws to pass Pam O'Connor (2001-05) and move up to second all-time.
 
Nixon also has dished out 412 assists in her career so far, the sixth most in school history. She ranks seventh in career steals with 185.
 
PRESSLEY IN THE CAREER CHARTS
Senior forward Chantelle Pressley has 84 career blocks, the sixth most in school history. The Lexington, Ky., native needs 16 more blocks to move into fifth all-time in career blocks and tie Missy Beck who had 100 blocked shots from 1993-96.