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CHARLESTON, IL - The Eastern Illinois Panthers fell 59-57 to the Sycamores of Indiana State on Sunday afternoon. Both teams battled for the entire match, with a total of four lead changes in the game. EIU'sÂ
Karle Pace scored the game high 20 points in her efforts to pull out the victory, but it wasn't enough as the Panthers drop their second game of the season. Indy State and Eastern's records move to 1-1 early into the season.
The fans certainly had a great game to watch at Lantz Arena today, with the match coming down to the wire.
Abby Wahl,
Taylor Steele and Pace all scored in double digits, with Wahl scoring 16 and Steele ending with 15. The Panthers didn't get much from their bench this game unfortunately, as
Jordyn Hughes was the only player to score off of the bench. EIU's day wasn't bad, as they shot 40% on the day, but the Panthers couldn't spread the offense out, unlike the Sycamores who had nine different players score.Â
The Panthers were within striking distance until the very end of the game. Pace had knocked down a floater to put Eastern Illinois within one point of victory.
Matt Bollant had guard
Kira Arthofer foul immediately. This put Del'Janae Williams at the line for her fourth and fifth free-throws on the day. The first by Williams was good putting the Sycamores up two points. Her second attempt bounced off the back iron and fell into the hands of
Abby Wahl. Wahl was knocked down in the scrum and managed to pass the ball up to Arthofer, but the buzzer sounded and the game was over. A heartbreaking loss, but it shows promise for EIU's future games.
The Panthers will stay in Charleston for a match-up against Loyola-Chicago on Wednesday. Loyola is currently 2-0 and has a lot of new players on their squad. The Panthers look to bounce back from today's loss. Â