COOKEVILLE, TENN -- Eastern Illinois women's basketball fought hard yet again but could not pull it out at Tennessee Tech. With the loss, the Panthers drop to 8-10 overall on the season and 3-4 in Ohio Valley Conference Action.
After TTU grabbed the early 10-6 lead, EIU used an 8-0 run to grab a 14-10 lead before ultimately finishing the first quarter with a 16-13 lead. It was an all-around offensive effort for EIU, as six different Panthers got into the scoring column in the opening period. The two teams battled to a 22-22 tie in the second period before a 10-0 Golden Eagle run put the Panthers in a hole. EIU was not about to go away quietly however, as an 8-1 run brought the score to within 33-30, but Tennessee Tech hit another shot to make the score 35-30 at the half.
Down 44-39 midway through the third quarter, EIU made another run, as a 6-1 spurt tied the game at 45 before two TTU free throws gave the Golden Eagles a two-point lead heading into the final period. The Panthers scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to take a 50-47 lead, but a 9-0 TTU run gave the Golden Eagles a six-point advantage. Back-to-back buckets by
Kira Arthofer cut the lead to two, but a 5-0 spurt by TTU widened the gap to seven. An
Abby Wahl jumper made it a five point game, and a subsequent
Lariah Washington steal gave the Panthers a chance to cut into the lead even further, but the team was unable to capitalize and another Tennessee Tech bucket upped the deficit back to seven. Back-to-back made shots by Arthofer and Wahl made it a three-point game, and the Panthers were given one last chance to tie the game with 13 seconds remaining, but
Morgan Litwiller's three-pointer was off the mark and TTU made two free throws to clinch it.
Wahl led the Panthers with 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and recorded four rebounds.Â
Lariah Washington scored 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting, recorded a career-high six steals, and also had four rebounds and three assists. Arthofer had 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting to go along with four assists and three rebounds.Â
Julia Bengtson scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds.
EIU outscored Tennessee Tech 48-32 in points in the paint, forced 16 Tech turnovers, and outscored the Golden Eagles 21-10 in points off turnovers. The Panthers shot 51.9% from the field.
Up next, the Panthers will return to the state of Tennessee to take on the UT Martin Skyhawks on Thursday, January 27. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 pm CT.