PHILADELPHIA - Eastern Illinois women's basketball team fell 80-62 at Saint Joseph's in then opening game of the Hawks Thanksgiving Tournament. Jennifer Nehls scored a career high 13 points and grabbed six rebounds in the Panthers 18 point loss as EIU falls to 1-3 on the season.

Saint Joseph's came ready to play as they outscored the Panthers 46-28 in the first half. Sarah Veilleux led the Hawks with 14 points shooting a near-perfect 6-7 from the field. Grace McRae led the Panthers with nine points and two rebounds.

Saint Joseph's dominated the boards in each quarter of play. They out-rebounded the EIU 14-3 in the first quarter eight of which were offensive boards. The Hawks finished the game with 42 rebounds to EIU's 25.

The Panthers opened the second half with a 14-0 run over Saint Joseph's sparked by back-to-back three pointers made by Carmen Tellez and Danielle Berry. EIU was able to narrow the Hawks lead to just four points before they took a 10-0 run and never looking back.

The Hawks improve to 4-0 on the season in their win over the Panthers. Chelsea Woods finished the game with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds. Veilleux finished with 22 points while Adashia Franklyn added 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

EIU finished 37.7 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from behind the arc. McRae finished the game with her first half stats of nine points and two rebounds. Tellez and Berry each finished 2-of-3 from the three-point range with six and eight points, respectively. 

The Panthers will return to action tomorrow at 1 p.m. to play the Delaware or Saint Peter's.