CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball hosted Northern Illinois for the season opener Friday night. The Huskies walked away with a 93-64 win over the Panthers.

EIU and NIU hung close the first half of the first quarter trading baskets each possession. At the 4:41 minute mark, Janae Poisson hit a layup putting the Huskies up 13-11 an securing the lead for the remainder of the game. NIU's Kelly Smith led the first quarter with eight points shooting perfect from the field.

The Huskies' defense held the Panthers scoreless in the first six minutes of play and limited them to just 10 second quarter points with a field goal percentage of 15.8 percent. Grace Lennox led EIU with nine first half points, three assists, and three rebounds. NIU's Smith led all scorers with 13 points while shooting 6-7 from the field. The Huskies out rebounded the Panthers 26-13 in the first half and 49-33 for the game. NIU headed into half-time with a 16 point advantage over EIU.

NIU held a 22 point lead in the third quarter until Halle Stull had 11 third quarter points off the bench for the Panthers. Stull hit a three-pointer at the five minute mark followed by two more back-to-back threes to narrow the lead to 17 points. EIU shot 40 percent from the behind the arc and held NIU's Smith to only five points in the third quarter. 

Stull's third quarter rally was not enough to ignite the offensive spark in EIU as the Huskies pulled away with a 93-64 win on opening night. Lennox finished in double-digits for the night with 17 points while dishing out 7 assists and grabbing six rebounds. Danielle Berry added seven points and four rebounds for the Panthers. EIU shot 34.3 percent from the field only connecting on 24 of 70 field goal attempts.

NIU dominated the paint with 37 points to EIU's 25. Smith finished with 26 points and seven rebounds for NIU while shooting 11 of 15 from the field. Ally May grabbed 11 rebounds while Courtney Woods and Mikayla Voight added 13 and 14 points, respectively. The Huskies shot 58 percent from the field and 43 percent from behind the arc. 

The Panthers continue their season on the road next week. They will play at Wright State on Tuesday Nov. 14 at 6 p.m.