Box Score: | Photo Gallery By Sandy King

CHARLESTON, ILL. - The Panthers just grabbed their biggest win of the season against the formerly undefeated UT Martin Skyhawks. An overall dominant performance from the team as a whole led to the upset. Eastern had five players finish the game with double-digit points. Lariah Washington scored the team-high 16 points to go along with seven rebounds. The Panthers showed tonight that they are capable of winning against any team in the OVC. The Panthers record rises to 11-7 (5-2 OVC), while UT Martin drops to 10-8 (6-1 OVC). 

The Panthers knew what they were getting into in this game with one of the best scoring teams in the OVC. This was meant to be a tough game for EIU, especially after coming off of a loss to the conference leader in Tennessee Tech. Skyhawks Chelsey Perry was coming off of a week where she averaged 27.5 and 11.5 points a game. The odds were stacked against EIU, but the team blocked out the noise and let their play on the court silence the doubters.

In the first, Perry was as advertised: Dominant. She ended the first with 11 points and three boards. The Panthers looked flustered by the pressing full court defense that UT Martin ran. It looked like they weren't prepared for the length and defense that the Skyhawks ran. The Panthers stayed calm and resilient however, and managed to push on and score points. The points didn't come from the usual suspects, as Karle Pace was hounded and denied the ball for most of the first. Jordyn Hughes scored the team-high 5 points to end the first. The quarter ended with a score of 19-12 in favor of UTM.

The second quarter saw the Panthers awaken offensively as Washington and Morgan Litwiller, who had started the first game of her EIU career, led the pack in scoring. Washington had worked effortlessly on her free throws all week and it had paid off for the freshman. She made all four of her free throws going into half time and had 8 points. Perry continued to dominate offensively, but the Panthers had done a good job keeping the rest of the team at a low roar. The Skyhawks led at the half, 32-29.

Eastern came out of the half more prepared than can be described in words. The Panthers shot nearly 63% from the field in the third quarter, while holding UTM to 38%. The Panthers continued to spread the wealth as many members of  team got involved scoring. Abby Wahl started to push the opposing posts around and score in deep; finishing the third with 11 points. Pace also found a way to impact the game distributing the ball and setting up her teammates perfectly. Perry still carried the bulk of UT Martin's offense. She entered the third with an astounding 29 points. The Panthers cut the lead to 3 points as UT Martin led 57-54 going into the final quarter.

In the final quarter, the momentum swung. The crowd was on their feet as the Panthers moved closer and closer to overcoming the Skyhawks lead. The Panthers somehow topped their third quarter performance by shooting 64%, as Pace racked up a total of nine assists. EIU, as a team, dominated this quarter. The band was loud, the fans were lively and no one was happier than Matt Bollant and his team as Kira Arthofer put the team up with a breakaway layup, and Washington sealed the deal with two made free throws. This is arguably the most complete game that the Panthers have played this season, and it should give Panther fans hope for this season and the seasons to come. The Panthers win 74-70 to give UTM their first conference loss of the season.

The Panthers will return to Lantz for a final game Saturday against SEMO before next weeks road trip.