CHARLESTON, ILL -- Eastern Illinois women's basketball overcame some spotty shooting to earn a 68-56 home win over the Morehead State Eagles on Thursday evening inside Lantz Arena. With the win, the Panthers improve to 15-13 overall and 10-7 in Ohio Valley Conference Play. With their 10th conference win, the Panthers clinch their second winning OVC record in three years. Â
"I felt like Morehead was gonna come in tonight really wanting to get a conference win," said head coach
Matt Bollant. "Give them credit. Jada Claude played great. They stuck with it and hung around."
The Panthers got out to a fast start, jumping out to a 16-4 lead in the first four minutes. The Eagles found some offense late in the first quarter, but EIU was able to end the period with a 21-11 lead behind a combined 13 first quarter points from Juniors
Lariah Washington and
Morgan Litwiller. After a Litwiller three-pointer got the scoring started in the second quarter, Morehead went on an 11-1 run to cut the EIU lead to 25-22. After the two teams traded blows en route to a 29-26 game, buckets by Washington and
Abby Wahl gave the Panthers a 33-26 halftime lead.
With the score 37-30 in the third period, a scoring drought ensued in which neither team was able to hit a shot from the field. A
Kira Arthofer layup with 4:30 remaining in the quarter made EIU's lead 9 before an 8-1 MSU run cut the lead to two. After
Taris Thornton went 1-for-2 at the line, she then proceeded to intercept an Eagles pass and run it back the other way for a layup to give EIU a 43-38 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Panthers finally seized control in the 4th period, scoring the first seven points of the quarter to stretch the lead to 50-38. The Eagles continued to battle, cutting the lead to seven with just under a minute remaining, but EIU was able to ultimately ice the game at the free throw line.
Washington led the Panthers with 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. The game marked the 13th 20-point game of Washington's career and her 25th double digit performance in 28 games this season.
"(Lariah) made her foul shots and just scored in a variety of ways," said coach Bollant. "(She) just has been really consistent for us. Great to see her getting to the line and knocking down her shots late."
Litwiller finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. Thornton contributed with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, while
Kira Arthofer had nine points, five steals, and four assists.Â
Jordyn Hughes scored seven while Wahl had four points and five rebounds, all of which were offensive boards.
The Panthers once again passed the ball efficiently, recording 15 assists on 21 made shots.
Up next, the Panthers will honor their seniors as they host the Austin Peay Governors on senior day on Saturday, February 26. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 pm CT.