CHARLESTON, ILL -- Eastern Illinois women's basketball dropped their second home contest in a row, losing 45-58 to the UT Martin Skyhawks on Saturday Afternoon at Lantz Arena. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 13-12 overall and 8-6 in Ohio Valley Conference Play. Â
The Panthers ran out to an early 7-0 lead, before UTM responded with a 5-0 run of their own.Â
Julia Bengtson then made back-to-back buckets and
Miah Monahan hit on a fast break jumper in the paint to up the EIU lead to 13-5, a lead the Panthers would end the first quarter with. After a
Taris Thornton layup gave EIU their largest lead of the game at 15-5, the Skyhawks used a 12-5 run to cut EIU's lead to 20-17 before a Bengtson three-pointer made it 23-17. UTM cut even further into the lead, making it 25-23, before two
Kira Arthofer free throws gave EIU a 27-23 halftime lead.
After a three-pointer brought the Skyhawks back to within 27-26, an Arthofer steal and layup made it 29-26. The wheels then came off for EIU, as UTM finished the quarter on a 16-0 run to take a 42-29 lead into the fourth quarter. UTM extended their run into the fourth quarter, upping their lead to 52-34. The Panthers went to their full court press and managed an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to 54-45, but were unable to get any closer.
Arthofer led the Panthers with 12 points, six assists, and five steals.Â
Lariah Washington scored 10 points while Bengtson scored seven on 3-of-4 shooting from the field. Monahan and
Morgan Litwiller both contributed with four points and four rebounds, while
Abby Wahl had four points and five rebounds. Thornton recorded four points and three rebounds.
Up next, the Panthers will head to the music city to take on the Belmont Bruins on Thursday, February 17. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 pm.