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EASTERN ILLINOIS (10-7, 4-1) at Austin Peay (5-11, 0-4)
January 19 • 5:15 p.m. 
Clarksville, Tenn. • Dunn Center (7,257) 
Radio: Hit Mix 88.9 FM 
Ryan Piers, radio play-by-play

THE OPENING TIP
The Panthers will face their first OVC west division opponent on Saturday when they travel to Austin Peay. EIU is 5-1 in its last six games, most recently coming off of back-to-back home wins against Jacksonville State (Jan. 12) and Tennessee Tech (Jan. 14). Ta'Kenya Nixon led the Panthers last week with 15.5 points per game, six rebounds per game and five assists per game.
 
The Lady Govs are winless in conference play (0-4) and 5-11 overall this season. Austin Peay is riding a four-game losing streak as they have not won since a 67-54 victory over Alabama A&M on Dec. 29. Meghan Bussabarger paces the offense with 12.3 points per game while Leslie Martinez has added 10.8 points per game and a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game.
 
COACHING MATCHUPS
Lee Buchanan enters his first season as the head coach of the Panther women's basketball program after previously serving five seasons as an assistant and associate head coach at EIU. Buchanan has a 366-223 overall record in 20 years of head coaching, previously coaching at Brescia University (1986-98), Francis Marion (1998-2002) and the University of Missouri-St. Louis (2003-07).
 
Carrie Daniels is in her seventh season as the head coach of her alma mater, posting a 77-126 overall record. She was previously an assistant coach at Western Kentucky (1999-2006) and UNLV (1996-99).
 
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST AUSTIN PEAY
The Panthers trail the all-time series with Austin Peay, 21-14, including a 6-9 mark when playing in Clarksville, Tenn. EIU is 3-1 in its last four meetings with the Lady Govs and have not dropped a game in Clarksville since a 65-55 loss on Dec. 5, 2009.
 
Last season, the Panthers picked up an 80-46 win over the Lady Govs on Jan. 21 in Charleston in the lone meeting between the two schools. Jordyne Crunk led EIU with a game-high 19 points while Chantelle Pressley added a double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers are coming off an 89-79 win over Tennessee Tech on Jan. 14. The Golden Eagles were the only remaining unbeaten team in conference play before facing the Panthers. Mariah King and Ta'Kenya Nixon combined to score 55 points to help EIU improve to 4-1 in the OVC and remain in first place of the west division.
 
PANTHER NOTES
• The Panthers scored 89 points in the win over Tennessee Tech, tying their season-high in scoring. EIU also had 89 points in a win over Buffalo at the Marriott Classic on Nov. 24.
 
• The Panthers scored 52 points in the second half against the Golden Eagles, the most points EIU has scored in a half this season. The Panthers previously scored 48 points in the second half of the 88-67 win against San Jose State on Nov. 19.
 
• Kelsey Wyss scored 15.5 points per game last week while going 11-for-20 from the floor (.550) and 4-for-8 from behind the arc. Mariah King also added 14.5 points per game last week while Sabina Oroszova chipped in 10.5 points per game and a team-best seven rebounds per game.
 
• EIU connected on 64 percent of its shot attempts (16-for-25) in the second half against Tennessee Tech, their highest field-goal percentage in a half this year. Mariah King went 5-for-5 from the floor in the second half.
 
• The Panthers made a season-high 22 free throws against the Golden Eagles, going 22-for-24 from the charity stripe. EIU also went 18-for-18 from the foul line in the second stanza. Ta'Kenya Nixon led the way as she went 11-for-12 from the charity stripe.
 
• EIU hit 50.8 percent (30-for-59) of its field-goal attempts against Tennessee Tech, their second highest field-goal percentage of the year. The Panthers have shot 50 percent or better from the floor three times this season.   
 
• Ta'Kenya Nixon (23 points) and Mariah King (22 points) both scored over 20 points in the win against Tennessee Tech. The last time EIU had two players score 20 or more points in a game was on Dec. 10, 2011 in a 75-60 win over Indiana State. Both King and Nixon scored 20 points in the victory.
 
• The Panthers four seniors combined to score 73 of the team's 89 points in the win over Tennessee Tech. Kelsey Wyss also added 17 points while Sydney Mitchell chipped in 11 points.
 
• Ta'Kenya Nixon has averaged 14.1 points per game and six rebounds per game through seven career games against the Lady Govs. She has also added 4.4 assist per game versus Austin Peay.
 
• Through five conference games, the Panthers are hitting 44.4 percent of their shot attempts while averaging 76.2 points per game. EIU also has a +12.2 scoring margin and a +8.8 rebounding margin in OVC play.
 
• Ta'Kenya Nixon is averaging 16 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game this season in OVC play while connecting on 56.6 percent of her shot attempts. The senior guard has averaged 15.5 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game throughout her OVC career (57 games).
 
• Mariah King has improved from the foul line throughout her career, connecting on 78.7 percent of her free throws this season to rank ninth in the conference. The senior forward only hit 58.8 percent of her free throws last year.
 
• Junior Jordyne Crunk ranks second in the OVC in free throw percentage, connecting on 85.4 percent of her free throws (41-for-48).
 
• The Panthers rank second the OVC in three-point field goal percentage as they have knocked down 35.4 percent of their shots from behind the arc. EIU also ranks third in the OVC in made three pointers with 111, averaging 6.5 three pointers per game.
 
• EIU currently leads the OVC in assists, averaging 15.2 assists per game. Ta'Kenya Nixon paces the Panthers with 5.4 assists per game, the second highest average in the OVC. Nixon also ranks fourth in the OVC in steals as the senior guard has recorded a team-high 43 steals on the year.
 
 • Freshman Alece Shumpert and junior Jordyne Crunk played together in high school as both players attended Althoff Catholic HS in Belleville, Ill.
 
KING ENTERS THE 1,000 POINT CLUB
Senior Mariah King eclipsed the 1,000 point mark in her career in the Panthers home loss to Bradley, becoming the 21st member of the 1,000 point club. King now has 1,225 points and ranks 17th in career scoring at EIU.
 
LOOKING TO JOIN THE 1,000 POINT CLUB
Seniors Sydney Mitchell and Kelsey Wyss look to break the 1,000 point career milestone this season and join classmates Mariah King and Ta'Kenya Nixon who have already netted over 1,000 points. Mitchell has 906 points and Wyss has 836, respectively.
 
NIXON ON PACE TO SET SCHOOL SCORING RECORD
Senior guard Ta'Kenya Nixon has scored 1,666 career points, needing only 226 points to pass Rachel Galligan (2006-09) as the school's all-time leading scorer. The Michigan City, Ind., native has increased her scoring average every season, scoring 14 points per game as a freshman to last year's 16.3 points per game average.
 
NIXON IN THE CAREER RECORD BOOKS
Senior Ta'Kenya Nixon currently ranks fifth in career points (1,666), fourth in career steals (247) and third in career assists (543). She also ranks second in free throws made (483), fifth in rebounds (691) and eighth in field-goals made (573).
 
WYSS IN THE CAREER RECORD BOOKS
Senior Kelsey Wyss ranks second in career three pointers made with 145, needing 18 more to surpass Lauren Dailey (2001-04) as the school's all-time leader. She also ranks fifth in three-point field goals attempted (389).
 
IT'S A NEW ERA: HEAD COACH LEE BUCHANAN
On May 29, 2012, EIU hired Lee Buchanan to guide the Panther women's basketball program after spending the previous five seasons as an assistant and associate head coach. During his five years on the bench, EIU has had its most successful five-year run since the program began. EIU has made three consecutive postseason tournaments twice playing in the Women's WNIT and once in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI). The program has amassed 106 wins with three, 20-win seasons in the last four years. EIU has played in three OVC Tournament Championship games in the past five seasons and won its first regular-season OVC title in 2010.
 
THREE PANTHERS EARN ALL-OVC PRESEASON HONORS
Seniors Mariah King, Ta'Kenya Nixon and Sydney Mitchell were named to the Ohio Valley Conference's Preseason Team as selected by conference head coaches and sports information directors on Oct. 23 at the conference's annual media day. Nixon is a two-time 'OVC Defensive Player of the Year' and a three-time All-OVC First Team selection while King has been named to the All-OVC Second Team twice.
 
EIU PICKED TO FINISH SECOND IN WEST DIVISION, RECEIVE FIVE FIRST PLACE VOTES
EIU was picked to finish second in the OVC's West Division and received five, first-place votes behind divisional favorite and defending OVC champions UT Martin who received 19, first-place votes. This season the OVC will split into two divisions with the addition of Belmont to the league.
 
SIU Edwardsville was selected to finish third in the west division followed by Murray State, Austin Peay and Southeast Missouri. Tennessee Tech was tabbed to capture the east division, earning a total of 15, first-place votes. Eastern Kentucky was picked to finish second followed by Belmont, Morehead State, Tennessee State and Jacksonville State.
 
NIXON NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE 
Senior Ta'Kenya Nixon was named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award for women's basketball on Wednesday, Oct. 31. The guard is one of 30 players to be selected to the initial award's list.
 
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
 
EIU WOMEN'S HOOPS, A WINNING TRADITION
From the start of the 2007-08 season through the 2011-12 campaign, the Panthers had three, 20-win seasons while advancing to three postseason tournaments. EIU participated in the WNIT in 2010 and 2012 and the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) in 2011.
 
EIU posted an overall record of 106-55 during that span with a 72-18 OVC record and a 59-14 record inside Lantz Arena. Furthermore, the Panthers' .658 winning percentage was the third best in the state of Illinois among women's basketball programs only behind Illinois State and DePaul.
 
PANTHER NEWCOMERS
EIU welcomes two newcomers to the program this season in Danielle Woolfolk and Alece Shumpert. Woolfolk averaged 14 points per game during her senior season while adding four assists and steals per game while Shumpert averaged 14.9 points per game and 2.8 rebounds per game.
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
After facing Austin Peay on Saturday, the Panthers will travel to Murray State on Monday, Jan. 21. EIU then plays host to Southeast Missouri (Jan. 26) and UT Martin (Jan. 28).