Box Score

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CHARLESTON, Ill. – The Panther women's basketball team remained in first place of the Ohio Valley Conference's West Division on Monday night, defeating UT Martin, 84-79, at Lantz Arena. EIU improves to 13-8 overall and 7-2 in OVC play.
 
The Skyhawks (10-13, 5-4 OVC) opened the game with a 15-5 run to take their largest lead of the contest before the Panthers responded with a 15-4 run, taking a one-point advantage (20-19) with 7:46 left in the first half. EIU never trailed for the duration of the game and had a 39-31 halftime lead.
 
UT Martin got within two points (75-73) with 4:17 left in the contest, but the Panthers would go 9-for-12 from the foul line down the stretch to seal the victory. Defensively, EIU held the OVC's top scoring team to only six points in the final three minutes of action on 1-for-7 shooting.
 
Senior Mariah King led the Panther offense with 23 points on 7-for-9 shooting. The senior forward scored 19 of her 23 points in the second stanza while also going 9-for-11 from the foul line. King also had 10 rebounds for her eighth career double-double.
 
Senior Sydney Mitchell also scored 17 points for EIU while classmate Kelsey Wyss rounded out the double-figure scoring with 14 points. Wyss is nine three pointers away from becoming the school's all-time leader in made three pointers. Senior Ta'Kenya Nixon posted a double-double with a game-high 11 assists to go along with 10 rebounds. Nixon also added eight points and a game-high three blocks.
 
The Panthers grabbed three more rebound than the Skyhawks (41-38) on the night and recorded three more steals (8-5). EIU also dished out a season-high 24 assists.
 
The Panthers hit 46.7 percent of their shot attempts, going 28-for-60 from the floor. EIU also went 10-for-26 from behind the arc and 18-for-27 from the foul line. UT Martin finished the day connecting on 41.4 percent of its field-goal attempts (29-for-70).
 
Jasmine Newsome led the Skyhawks with 28 points, seven assists and three steals. Heather Butler added 25 points and a team-high eight assists while Rickiesha Bryant chipped in a double-double with a game-high 15 rebounds and 10 points.  

The Panthers return to action at SIU Edwardsville on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 4 p.m.