Box Score
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CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Panther women's basketball team remained in first place in the Ohio Valley Conference's west division with a 68-43 win over Austin Peay on Saturday afternoon at the Dunn Center. EIU improves to 11-7 overall and 5-1 in the OVC.
The Panthers struggled out of the gate, going 1-for-11 from the floor to trail Lady Govs, 12-2, through the game's first seven minutes. EIU responded by going on a 29-5 run to take its largest lead of the half, 31-17, with 1:25 left on the clock. Austin Peay scored three unanswered points to cut its deficit to 11 points (31-20) heading into intermission.
The Lady Govs made their opening basket of the second stanza to get within nine (31-22), but the Panthers scored on their next basket to take a double-digit advantage they would hold onto for duration of the game. EIU hit 50 percent (17-for-34) of its second-half shots to eventually lead by as much 25 points in the closing minutes of the game to post their third consecutive conference win.
Defensively, the Panthers allowed a season-low 43 points. EIU also forced 20 Austin Peay turnovers, converting the miscues into 19 points.
EIU outrebounded the Lady Govs by 17 (55-38), led by
Sydney Mitchell and
Sabina Oroszova who combined for 28 rebounds. Both players recorded career highs as Mitchell had 15 rebounds and Oroszova grabbed 13 rebounds, respectively.
Ta'Kenya Nixon paced the Panther offense with a game-high 18 points, going 8-for-12 from the floor. The senior guard also dished out a game-high six assists. Mitchell also added 10 points for her fifth career double-double.
EIU finished the day hitting 40.3 percent of its field-goal attempts (29-for-72) while Austin Peay finished the day only connecting on 28.1 percent of its shots (16-for-57). The Panthers also went 6-for-19 from behind the arc with
Kelsey Wyss and
Katlyn Payne leading the way with two each.
The Panthers return to action on Monday, Jan. 21 at Murray State. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from the CFSB Center.
