Eastern Illinois (6-6, 1-0 OVC) vs. Belmont (5-5, 1-0 OVC)
Jan. 1 at 1 pm (First Mid Court at Lantz Arena)
Charleston, Ill.
Live Stats
Watch Live
Radio: Hit Mix 88.9 FM
Media Guide (PDF)
Game Notes (PDF)

Panthers Showdown With Belmont In First Home OVC Match
Eastern Illinois rings in the new year with their first home OVC match of the season against the Belmont Bruins.  EIU currently sits at 6-6 overall on the season and 1-0 in OVC Conference Play.  Tipoff is set for 1 PM Central Time.

Last Game
The Panthers breezed to a 91-64 road win over Morehead State in their OVC opener.  Morgan Litwiller tied her career high with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 shooting from three-point range, while also grabbing seven rebounds.  Lariah Washington and Jordyn Hughes each scored 17 points, while grabbing seven and six rebounds, respectively.  Abby Wahl scored 14 points and recorded eight rebounds, while Kira Arthofer contributed with nine points, six assists, and four rebounds.

Player to Watch
Julia Bengtson is the X-factor who could make all the difference for the Panthers coming off the bench in this highly important OVC matchup.  The Freshman Guard from Becker, Minn. scored eight points on 2-of-3 shooting from three-point range in the conference opener at Morehead State.  She has scored at least seven points in eight out of 12 games this season and has hit double digits five times this season, including 10 points against Southern Illinois and 12 points against Northern Illinois in the first two starts of her career in the Compass Tournament in Macomb, Ill.  She is currently shooting 50.7% from the field and 43.2% from three-point range.  Her 7.8 points per game ranks fifth on the team and first among all EIU freshmen.

Evaluating The Bruins
Belmont is led by fifth-year head coach Bart Brooks.  The Bruins currently sit at 5-5 overall this season and are coming off of an 87-49 road win over SIUE in their OVC opener.  The Bruins are led in scoring by Sophomore Guard Destinee Wells, whose 16.8 points per game rank second in the conference.  Fellow Sophomore Guard Tuti Jones is also averaging double figures for Belmont with 11.3 points per game.  Senior Forward Conley Chinn is Belmont's leading rebounder with 5.1 per game.

Series History
Saturday will mark the 15th all-time meeting between the Panthers and the Bruins.  Belmont leads the all-time series 10-4.  In the two meetings a season ago, Belmont defeated EIU 63-49 in Nashville on January 21, 2021 and then won again in Charleston 77-75 on February 4.

Upcoming
The Panthers will host another important OVC game in Lantz Arena against the Murray State Racers on Thursday, January 6.  Tipoff is scheduled for 5 pm CT.