EASTERN ILLINOIS (3-15, 2-5 OVC) at Little Rock (8-8, 4-2 OVC)
Thursday, January 15  •  5:00 pm 
Little Rock, Ark.  •  Jack Stephens Center

GAME INFO
RADIO: Hit Mix 88.9 WEIU
TV: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: www.eiupanthers.com
SERIES RECORD: Series tied 3-3
LAST MEETING: @EIU 53, Little Rock 44 on Feb. 27, 2025
NOTES: EIU Complete Game Notes

GAME 19
Eastern Illinois fell behind in the opening minutes on Tuesday against Western Illinois before battling back to tie the game at 10-10 early in the first quarter.  At the end of the evening EIU was not able to keep pace with the current OVC leader seeing their two game win streak come to an end with a 74-61 home loss.  EIU dropped to 3-15 overall, 2-5 in the OVC.  The Panthers travel to Little Rock for a Thursday game against a Trojans team that sits near the top of the conference race at 8-8 overall, 4-2 in the OVC.  Little Rock will make the return to trip to Charleston on February 14.  

STOLLER SCORING PERFORMANCE
Ava Stoller finished with 18 points on Tuesday against Western Illinois for the 12th double figure scoring game this season for the transfer guard from SIUE.  Stoller has scored in double figures in four straight games and climbed to 10th in the OVC in scoring at 12.9 points per game.  Among those 12 double figure games this season are a career high 25 points at Purdue, 22 points against her former team SIUE and 21 in the road win at Bellarmine.  In addition she leads the team with 55 assists with her 3.1 assists per game total ranking seventh in the conference. 

THREE STRAIGHT DOUBLE FIGURES FOR TINY
Senior Tiny Lewis has had hot streaks during several games over her three year career as a Panther.  The guard is currently on one of those streaks reaching double figures for the third straight game with 12 points on Tuesday against Western Illinois.  That performance came off a season high 20 points against Tennessee State.  Earlier this year she had a streak of four straight double figure games.  Lewis has scored in double figures in five of the last six games averaging 12.1 points per game over those five games with ten made 3-pointers and 21 made free throws. 

PRODUCTION IN THE POST
Eastern Illinois was able to match Western Illinois for production in the paint on Tuesday night as both teams finished with 24 points in the paint.  It marked the fourth straight game that EIU has either tied or won the battle in the paint with its opponent.  Over those four games EIU is averaging 29.5 points per game in the paint, up from the Panthers overall season average of 23.9 points per game in the post.  For the year EIU's best production in the paint was 48 points in last week's home win over Tennessee Tech.  The highest total EIU surrendered this year was 54 to Lindenwood..  For the year EIU has won the point production battle four times with ties in two other contests.  

UP NEXT
Thursday, January 22 at Southern Indiana (5 pm / ESPN+)