HONOLULU, HI. -- Eastern Illinois women's basketball was defeated 74-53 by the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Saturday evening in their second game of the Unviersity of Hawaii round robin tournament. With their second straight loss, the Panthers drop to 4-2 on the season.
It was another slow start for the Panthers, as Gonzaga scored the first 9 points of the game before ending the first quarter with a 23-13 lead. EIU was able to make a run in the second quarter, as an 8-4 surge by the Panthers cut the Bulldogs' lead to 27-21. But EIU was ultimately unable to get any closer, as Gonzaga took a 34-25 lead into the locker room at halftime. Gonzaga then outscored the Panthers 40-28 in the second half to seal the deal.
Abby Wahl led the team in scoring with 13 points.Â
Lariah Washington contributed with eight points, while
Kira Arthofer stuffed the stat sheet with six points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals.Â
Morgan Litwiller also scored six, while
Parker Stafford scored four on 2-of-3 shooting from the field.
Freshmen were again a factor for EIU, as
Julia Bengtson was once again a force off the bench, scoring eight points on 3-of-5 shooting.Â
Miah Monahan hit a three-pointer while also dishing out four assists.Â
Taris Thornton blocked two shots for the Panthers.
EIU plays their final game in Honolulu against Utah on Sunday, November 28. Tipoff is set for 4 pm CT.