NASHVILLE, TENN -- Eastern Illinois women's basketball got a much-needed 72-61 win at Tennessee State on Saturday afternoon.  With the win, the Panthers snap their three-game losing streak and improve to 14-13 overall and 9-7 in Ohio Valley Conference play.  The win marks EIU's second straight sweep of TSU and their fifth consecutive win over the Lady Tigers.

"Really proud of our team," said coach Matt Bollant. "It was not easy.  Give Tennessee State credit.  They hit some shots early, got up.  They're just hard to play against with their press, but I thought our veterans did a great job of making plays and stepping up."

EIU fell behind 6-0 early, as Tennessee State got the scoring started with back-to-back three pointers.  The Panthers responded with seven straight of their own to take a 7-6 lead.  TSU kept their early offense going and established a 14-10 lead, but the Panthers would again respond, using a 9-0 run to take a 19-14 lead as the 1st quarter expired.  It was an all-around effort in the first stanza, as seven different Panthers got into the scoring column.

A Lariah Washington layup and a Morgan Litwiller three-pointer extended EIU's lead to 24-16 early in the second quarter before another TSU run cut the lead to 26-24.  The Lady Tigers' defensive pressure played a factor, but EIU kept the offense rolling and was able to end the quarter on a 9-3 run to take a 38-29 halftime lead.  The Third quarter began in similar fashion to the third, as a Jordyn Hughes three put EIU up double digits, but TSU kept up the defensive intensity and was able to cut the Panther lead to 45-43.  A Litwiller putback followed by buckets by Kira Arthofer and Washington gave EIU a 51-47 lead going into the final period. 

Another TSU three-pointer to start the 4th quarter made it a 1-point affair, but Arthofer made another layup in the lane to extend the lead back to three before a Washington fast break converted and-one opportunity made it 56-50.  Three times TSU was again able to cut the lead to 1, but Abby Wahl, Arthofer, and Washington took turns making clutch, veteran plays to widen the lead for the Panthers.  Up 65-61 with just under two minutes to play, Arthofer came up with what was her fifth steal of the ball game and went 1-for-2 at the free throw line.  Litwiller then hit a dagger three-pointer to put EIU up 69-61 with 1 minute to play, and the Panthers made the free throws down the stretch that allowed them to seal the deal.

Washington finished with a team-high 19 points to go along with a team-high six assists and six rebounds.  Wahl finished one rebound shy of a double-double, with 16 points and 9 rebounds.  With those numbers, Wahl becomes only the 10th player in EIU school history with 1,200 career points and 600 career rebounds.  Litwiller scored 13 on 5-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range.  Arthofer had 11 points to go along with five assists and five steals.  Hughes contributed with six points.

As a team, the Panthers recorded 18 assists on 27 made shots.

"For us to have 18 assists and only 16 turnovers... 16 may feel like a lot, but against Tennessee State, that's really not," said coach Bollant. "To have more assists than turnovers says a lot."

Up next, the Panthers return home where they will go for the season sweep against Morehead State on Thursday, February 24.  Tipoff is scheduled for 5 pm CT.