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Photo Gallery (by Sandy King)
CHARLESTON, ILL -- Eastern Illinois women's basketball was pushed to the limit, but emerged victorious against the Millikin Big Blue in exhibition action at Lantz Arena on Thursday night.
It was a tight affair from the beginning, as the two teams exchanged leads five times in the first six minutes. The Panthers established a 17-12 lead with back-to-back buckets from Macy McGlone, but the Big Blue used an 8-2 run to take a 20-19 advantage into the second quarter. It then became a game of runs, as the Panthers scored the first five points of the second period to take a 24-20 lead, but Millikin responded with a 10-3 run to take a 30-27 lead. The Panthers responded with a 6-0 run that was capped by a pull-up jumper from Emily Meidel off of a pass from
Miah Monahan to take a 33-30 lead. The two sides exchanged buckets before a driving layup by
Lariah Washington gave the Panthers a 42-39 halftime lead.
EIU came out on fire in the second half, scoring the first seven points of the third quarter to take a 49-39 lead, capped by five straight points from McGlone. Millikin did not go away however, as an 11-4 Big Blue run cut the lead to 53-50. Back-to-back layups by Washington extended the Panther lead to 57-50, but a 12-4 Millikin run that included four straight three-pointers from the Big Blue gave them a 62-61 lead. Another McGlone layup gave EIU the lead back at 63-62 heading into the fourth quarter. The two teams again traded blows before a 68-68 tie was broken by a 6-0 Millikin run to put EIU in a 74-68 hole. After a Washington three-pointer cut it to three,
Morgan Litwiller made a layup in the paint while being fouled. She missed the subsequent free throw, but McGlone once again proved disruptive in the paint, making the putback to give EIU the 75-74 lead with 2:45 to go. After Millikin retook the lead just seven seconds later, Litwiller made another clutch jumper to put EIU back out in front. After a Big Blue layup gave Millikin the lead back with 49 seconds to go, Washington converted an and-one opportunity to give EIU a two point lead in the waning seconds. Millikin's last chance was denied as
Julia Bengtson came up with the steal and
Miah Monahan sank the two clutch free throws to put the game on ice for the Panthers.
Washington lived up to her Preseason Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year billing, scoring 29 points and recording four rebounds. McGlone made her presence felt right away, scoring 24 points and recording 12 rebounds for a double-double. She also recorded a blocked shot. Monahan also recorded a double-double, registering 13 points and 11 assists. Litwiller scored eight points, recorded four steals, and also recorded a block. Meidel contributed with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting.
The Panthers amassed 58 points in the paint and outscored Millikin 18-3 in second chance opportunities. They also outscored the Big Blue 17-8 in fast break points.
EIU opens up their season officially on Monday, November 7 against the Missouri-St. Louis Tritons at Lantz Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 PM CT.