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Box Score | Photo Gallery By Sandy King

CHARLESTON, ILL. - Eastern Illinois battled in a better than advertised SIUE team Thursday night at Lantz Arena. The Panthers came out of the game victorious with five players scoring in double-digits. Karle Pace led the team in points with 21 on the night. Abby Wahl finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and three steals, while Lariah Washington and Taylor Steele finished with 10 points. Jordyn Hughes rounded out the offense with 12 points off the bench. Eastern increases their win streak to four, as their record moves to 15-9 (9-4 OVC), while SIUE drops to 3-21 (1-12 OVC). 

The Panthers struggled with the help defense of SIUE, but managed to find the open teammate and score. EIU as a team put up 19 assists, which is tied for the second most assist totals of the season. Steele made her return after five weeks of sitting out. Her impact was immediately felt by the team. Panthers fans were thrilled to see her back too, as the gym erupted after she nailed a deep three for her first field goal of the game. Steele has come back at a time that she was needed the most as we move closer to the OVC tournament. 

Wahl was nothing short of dominant during this game. In the first half, the Cougars came down with 10 offensive rebounds which hurt the Panthers immensely. Wahl came back out in the second and shut that down, as she pulled in three offensive rebounds. It doesn't stand out too much on the stat sheet, but she was holding down the paint for the Panthers.

Kira Arthofer had a career night as she dished out eight assists. Arthofer's previous career high was six against UT Martin. Arthofer also tacked on three points and three rebounds.

Karle Pace became the 25th women's basketball player in the history of EIU basketball to notch 1,000 career points. Pace is only a junior and will have the rest of the season and next year to continue to move up the leader boards. Grace Lennox was the last EIU player to hit the mark.

The Panthers will try to keep the streak alive against UT Martin on Saturday, February 15.