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MURRAY, Ky. -- Eastern Illinois women's basketball avenged Monday's home loss, getting a huge road victory over the Murray State Racers 71-64 in overtime at the CFSB Center on Thursday evening.  The win marked EIU's first win at Murray State since February 18, 2015, as well as only their seventh ever road win over the Racers.

Freshman Guard Julia Bengtson once again got off to a sensational start, scoring EIU's first eight points of the game to give the Panthers the early 8-5 lead.  Bengtson scored ten points in the first quarter as EIU took an 18-12 lead into the second period.  The Panthers kept the Racers at arms' length for most of the first half, taking a 26-20 lead before a 5-0 Murray State spurt cut the Panther lead to one at halftime.

The teams traded leads throughout the third quarter before an 8-0 run late in the period gave Murray State a 42-36 lead.  Morgan Litwiller came up big with a momentum-changing three-pointer as time expired in the quarter to cut the Racer lead to 42-39.  After Murray State extended their lead to 46-39 to begin the fourth quarter, the Panthers cut the lead back to one.  Down 49-48 with just under four minutes to go in regulation, an Abby Wahl putback off of a Lariah Washington miss gave the Panthers a 50-49 lead.  After the Racers retook the lead on a putback of their own, Litwiller came up big once again with a layup to give EIU the lead right back.  The two teams then traded the lead once again, as two Racer free throws were followed by a Washington layup.  The Panthers ultimately were able to push the lead to four with under 30 seconds remaining, but were unable to close the game out in regulation, as the Racers were able to tie it up and send the game into overtime.

In the extra period, Murray State struck first with another putback layup on their first possession, but an Arthofer three would give the Panthers a lead they would never relinquish.  Effective defense along with a huge Washington three-pointer ultimately helped to seal the deal for the Panthers.

Bengtson led the team with a season high tying 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, her seventh double-digit scoring effort of the season.  Arthofer scored 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field while grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds for her first career double-double.  Arthofer also recorded five assists, and four steals, giving her 180 career steals which surpasses Toni Collins for 10th on the program's career steals list.  Washington scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Wahl contributed with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and six rebounds.  Jordyn Hughes scored eight points, while Litwiller scored five points, all at very crucial moments in the game.

Up next, EIU will look to keep their newfound momentum going as they host the Southeast Missouri Redhawks on Saturday, January 22.  Tipoff is scheduled for 1 pm.