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CHICAGO, ILL -- Eastern Illinois women's basketball jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as the Panthers coasted their way to an 87-64 road victory over the Chicago State Cougars.  With the win, the Panthers are 5-0 for the first time since the 1982-83 season.

"I thought we played a really good first half,"  said head coach Matt Bollant.  "Obviously, we were up 51-17 and the game was kind of decided in the first half.  I wasn't real pleased with the way we defended and the way we played in the second half, but give them credit.  They stepped up and made some shots."

The Panthers came out firing early and often, making four of their first six shots from the field en route to an early 9-0 advantage.  EIU kept the Cougars at arms' length for the first quarter before an 8-0 run to end the quarter gave EIU a 23-8 lead going into the second quarter.  A converted and-one opportunity from Morgan Litwiller set the tone for the period, as the Panthers ran out to a 30-10.  After a CSU jumper cut the lead to 18, the Panthers closed the quarter on a 21-5 run to take a 51-17 halftime lead.  Playing subs for the vast majority of the second half, the Panthers outscored the Cougars 23-22 in the third quarter before a Hannah Purcell bucket gave EIU their largest lead of the game at 82-44 with 6:06 remaining in the fourth quarter.  Chicago State closed the game on a 20-5 run to make EIU's margin of victory 23.

Taris Thornton was once again a massive force off the bench, leading the Panthers with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting.  Macy McGlone scored 14 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the field while Litwiller had 12 on 5-of-7 shooting.  Haley Cameron tied her career high with nine points and grabbed four rebounds.  Emily Meidel set a new career high with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting and recorded three steals.  Jackie Maulucci also set a new career high with seven points. 

Lariah Washington totaled six points and six rebounds, while Lyric Johnson again crashed the glass effectively, setting a new career high with nine rebounds to go along with five points.  Julia Bengtson scored five and set a new career high with five assists.  Purcell scored four points and set a new season high with five rebounds.

As a team, the Panthers were once again dominant in the paint, outscoring CSU 60-34 in points in the paint.  EIU outscored the Cougars 25-9 in fast break points and 48-19 in bench points.  The Panthers turned over CSU 24 times and recorded 22 assists on 35 made shots.

Up next, the Panthers will host the Wright State Raiders on Monday, November 28.  Tipoff is scheduled for 6 PM CT.