EASTERN ILLINOIS (18-11, 15-5 OVC) - OVC Tournament Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 6  •  3 pm 
Evansville, Ind.  •  Ford Center
OVC TOURNAMENT WEBSITE

GAME INFORMATION
NOTES: EIU Complete Game Notes
RADIO: Hit Mix 88.9 WEIU
TV: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: www.eiupanthers.com
OVC TOURNAMENT: 19th appearance (7-18 record)
LAST APPEARANCE: 2024 OVC Semifinals - Southern Indiana 69, EIU 54

GAME 30
Eastern Illinois will be making its 19th appearance in the OVC Tournament when the Panthers play as the No. 3 seed on Thursday afternoon against the winner of the opening round game between UT Martin and Western Illinois.  EIU is 7-18 all-time having reached the OVC Championship game three previous times in 2008, 2009 and 2010.  EIU is making its fifth straight appearance in the tournament.  The Panthers have reached the OVC Tournament semifinals each of the last two years being knocked out by the eventual OVC Champion (Southern Indiana last year and Tennessee Tech in 2023).  This will be the first time EIU has appeared in the OVC Tournament as the No. 3 seed.   EIU is 2-5 in tournament games played in the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

MCGLONE REPEATS AS OVC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Last season Macy McGlone became the first EIU player in school history to win OVC Player of the Year honors as she won both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year (one of two to win both in same year).  This week she became the tenth player in OVC history to win OVC Player of the Year honors in back-to-back years.  McGlone capped her stellar season this past week earning her sixth OVC Player of the Week Award averaging 20.5 points and 20 rebounds for the week.   McGlone pulled down 21 rebounds against Little Rock falling one shy of the EIU single game record.  McGlone finished off the regular season ranking eighth on the EIU career scoring list with 1,465 career points.  She is second in the OVC this season averaging 17.7 points per game.  Her 11.6 rebounds per game rank her sixth in the NCAA this season.  She is seventh in the NCAA in double-doubles with 17.  McGlone holds both the EIU single season record (26) and career mark (47) for double-doubles at EIU.  She is third in career rebounds with 938 and third in career blocks with 159.  She needs three blocks to break the EIU single season record and has at least one block in 20 straight games.  

FLOWERS WINS OVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kiyley Flowers led the OVC in steals the last two seasons playing at Southeast Missouri.  This season as a senior transfer to Eastern Illinois she again led the OVC in steals per game while ranking second in total steals after missing three games due to injury.  This week she was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Week becoming the third EIU player to win the award (Macy McGlone and Ta'Kenya Nixon (twice).  Flowers had 73 steals which is tied for tenth on the EIU single season list and her 2.8 steals per game ranks 18th in the NCAA this season.  Flowers had a streak of 56 consecutive games with at least one steal come to an end earlier this season at Lindenwood.  For her career she has 294 career steals.  In addition to her play on defense Flowers is second in the league in assists per game passing out a season high nine on Saturday against Southeast Missouri and ranks fourth in the OVC in assist-to-turnover ratio.