EASTERN ILLINOIS (1-14, 0-4 OVC) vs. Tennessee Tech (10-3, 3-1 OVC)
Thursday, January 3  •  5:00 pm 
Charleston, Ill.  •  Groniger Arena

GAME INFO
RADIO: Hit Mix 88.9 WEIU
TV: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: www.eiupanthers.com
SERIES RECORD: TTU leads 36-20
LAST MEETING: @Tennessee Tech 65, EIU 54 on Feb. 8, 2025
NOTES: EIU Complete Game Notes

GAME 16
Eastern Illinois returns home for the first of three straight games at Groniger Arena with the Panthers hosting Tennessee Tech on Thursday at 5 p.m.   EIU lost a pair of closely contested games on the road this past week at Southeast Missouri and UT Martin falling to 1-14 overall, 0-4 in the OVC.  Following the Tennessee Tech game on Thursday, EIU hosts Tennessee State on Saturday and Western Illinois next Tuesday.  Tennessee Tech lost last week at Little Rock which dropped the Golden Eagles into a five-way tie for first place in the early OVC standings at 10-3 overall, 3-1 in the OVC.  

MASON JUST MISSES DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Junior center Meioshe Mason just missed posting the first double-double of the season for Eastern Illinois as the transfer from Middle Tennessee scored nine points while pulling down 13 rebounds.  Mason's season high for points is ten in each of the first two games this season against Drake and Purdue.  Her previous season high for rebounds was nine early in the season at Indiana State.  Mason was effective from the field going 3-of-4 on field goals and 3-of-4 on free throws.  She added a career high four assists with one blocked shot.  Mason is the second EIU player this season to come up just short on a double-double, Ava Stoller had 22 points and nine rebounds against SIUE.

STOLLER BACK IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Guard Ava Stoller was back in double figures on Saturday at UT Martin after being held to single digit scoring in her last two games.  Stoller is the Panthers leading scorer this season at 12.5 points per game having led EIU in scoring in seven of 15 games this year.  She has been in double figures nine times this season with a high of 25 points at Purdue.  Stoller added a 22 point performance against her former team, SIUE, and a 21 points effort in the win over Bellarmine.  She passed out two assists at UT Martin and ranks seventh in the OVC at 2.9 assists per game.  

PANTHERS TURNING AWAY SHOTS 
Eastern Illinois was the top team in the Ohio Valley Conference in blocked shots averaging 4.2 blocks per game heading into the Dec. 18 game with SIUE thanks in large part to 6'10" transfer center Abbie Boutilier and her league leading 25 blocks.  Boutilier was lost for the season due to injury in that game, but the Panthers have not dropped off defending the rim with 13 blocked shots during the weekend swing at Southeast Missouri and UT Martin.  EIU now has 66 blocks with the 4.4 blocks per game leading the OVC and ranking 53rd in the NCAA.

UP NEXT
Saturday, January 10 vs. Tennessee State (1 pm / ESPN+)