Tweet #LOYALandTRUE

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO -- Eastern Illinois women's basketball overcame a slow start offensively to earn a 72-53 win over the Southeast Missouri Redhawks.  With the win, the Panthers improve to 12-10 overall on the season and 7-4 in Ohio Valley Conference action.  The win also clinched EIU's second straight season sweep of SEMO.

It was a slow start offensively for the Panthers, as they began the game just 2-of-10 from the field as a team.  Despite this, the Panthers managed to jump out to an early 5-0 lead.  The first quarter then became a game of runs, as SEMO responded with an 8-3 run to tie the game 8-8, which EIU answered with a 6-1 run to go up 14-9 before ultimately ending the period with a 17-15 lead.  Jordyn Hughes hit a three-pointer to get the scoring started in the second quarter, but EIU's offense briefly stalled again as SEMO cut the lead to 1.  The Panthers then seized control with a 7-0 run, giving them a 27-19 lead.  The Panthers maintained a lead throughout the remainder of the quarter before another Hughes three at the buzzer gave EIU a 34-28 halftime lead.

EIU upped their lead to 40-28 to begin the third quarter, and the Redhawks did not pose a significant threat for the remainder of the contest.  The Panthers outscored SEMO 32-25 from that point forward to seal the deal.

Lariah Washington led the Panthers with 15 points, while also dishing out four assists and recording three steals.  Abby Wahl was a big-time force in the paint, scoring 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting and collecting nine rebounds.  Hughes went 3-of-4 from three-point range and scored 13.  Morgan Litwiller scored 10 points and recorded seven rebounds.  Miah Monahan continued her recent hot streak with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-4 from three-point range.  While it wasn't her finest shooting performance, Kira Arthofer still managed to have an efficient performance with seven assists.

The Panthers outrebounded one of the top rebounding teams in the conference 33-28, making them 10-0 this season when outrebounding their opponent.  EIU outscored SEMO 40-26 in points in the paint.

Up next, the Panthers will head back on the road to take on the SIUE Cougars on Monday, February 7 in a game that was postponed from Thursday due to inclement weather.  Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 pm CT.