Box Score
CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Kentucky’s women’s basketball team lost 70-61 at Eastern Illinois University on Thursday night. Senior
Reese Bass led the Lady Colonels with 16 points and senior
Nadia Mossong finished with a double-double, 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Sydney Mitchell and Ta’Kenya Nixon each scored 15 points for the Panthers (9-7, 5-1 OVC).
Eastern Kentucky (4-11, 1-6 OVC) led by two at the break, but the Panthers began the second half with an 11-2 run. A basket by Chantelle Pressley and a three-pointer from Mitchell capped the run and turned the Panther’s deficit into a seven-point lead, 44-37, with 16:30 left to play.
Through the first nine minutes of the second half, Eastern Illinois had made 55 percent of its shots (6-for-11) from the field. A pair of free throws by Kelsey Wyss with 10:06 on the clock stretched the Panther lead to double digits, 53-43. A three-pointer by Pressley with 5:39 left to play gave the home squad its largest lead of 12, 61-49.
The Lady Colonels made a late run to get within two. A pair of free throws by
Brittany Coles followed by a three-pointer from
Cherie White started an 11-1 EKU run. A lay-up by
Alex Jones with 2:47 to go capped the run and cut the deficit to 62-60.
An offensive foul on the other end gave the ball back to Eastern Kentucky with a chance to tie or take the lead. The Lady Colonels missed two shots at their end and scored only one point over the final 2:47.
Eastern Kentucky committed only 15 turnovers, but Eastern Illinois turned those turnovers into 24 points. The Lady Colonels scored just 10 points off EIU’s 10 turnovers. The Panthers went 7-for-11 from three-point range (64 percent). EKU shot just 24 percent from the field in the second half.
EKU shot 48 percent in the first half and held a two-point lead at the break. The Lady Colonel lead could have been bigger. Eastern Illinois scored 12 points off eight Eastern Kentucky turnovers, scored eight points off 12 offensive rebounds and out-scored the Lady Colonels 8-4 at the free throw line. The Panthers shot just 31 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes of play.
The Lady Colonels continue their three-game road trip on Saturday at Southeast Missouri State. Tip-off in Cape Girardeau is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
