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MOREHEAD, KY -- Eastern Illinois Women's Basketball cruised to a 91-64 road win over the Morehead State Eagles on Wednesday evening.  With the win, the Panthers improve to 6-6 overall and 1-0 in Ohio Valley Conference Play.  The win marks EIU's fourth straight win over the Eagles and their fourth straight conference-opening win.  Overall, the Panthers are now 4-1 in OVC openers under head coach Matt Bollant.

It was a tight, defensive contest early on, as the two teams battled to a 7-7 tie in the first 7:30 of the game.  That all changed when a Jordyn Hughes three-pointer sparked a 9-2 Panthers run to give EIU a 16-9 lead after the first quarter.  The Panthers kept their foot on the gas pedal, extending the run to 17-5 early on in the second quarter, as a Kira Arthofer converted and-one opportunity gave EIU a 24-12 lead.  The Eagles responded with a 12-2 run to pull to within 26-24, but the Panthers were able to keep Morehead State at arms' length for the remainder of the half before Hughes hit a halftime buzzer-beater three-pointer for the second consecutive game to give EIU a 38-31 halftime lead.  Hughes totaled 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 3-of-4 from three-point range in the first half.

The Panthers came out firing on all cylinders in the third period, seizing control of the game with a 16-4 run to go up 54-35.  Morehead State was never got closer than to within 16 points, as EIU took a 20-point lead into the fourth quarter before ultimately winning by 27.

Morgan Litwiller led all scorers with a career-high tying 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, including 5-of-8 from three-point range.  She also contributed seven rebounds.  Lariah Washington and Jordyn Hughes both scored 17 points, and added seven and six rebounds, respectively.  Hughes's 17 points marked a new season-high for the Senior. Abby Wahl once again made her presence known down low, scoring 14 points and collecting a team-high eight rebounds.  Kira Arthofer stuffed the stat sheet again, scoring nine points, dishing out six assists, and grabbing four rebounds.  Julia Bengtson added eight points off the bench on 2-of-3 shooting from three-point range.

As a team, EIU hit a season-best 13 three-pointers.  The Panthers outrebounded the Eagles 50-25 and outscored Morehead State 21-5 in second chance points.

Up next, the Panthers will ring in the new year with a home matchup against the Belmont Bruins on Saturday, January 1.  Tipoff is scheduled for 1 pm.