Spring Break
Women's Basketball: Hot-shooting Kluempers leads Panthers to win
Senior forward registers season-high 14 points
Collin Whitchurch / Assistant Sports Editor
Issue date: 2/2/09 Section: Sports
Eastern senior forward Lindsey Kluempers found her poise.
She scored a season-high 14 points to help lead the Eastern women's basketball team to a 71-58 victory against Jacksonville State Saturday in Lantz Arena.
Kluempers, who had been held to two points or less five times since breaking her pinkie finger Dec. 13 against Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne, shot 5-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, putting up her highest scoring total since scoring 11 in the season-opener against Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 14.
"It's all about my confidence, really," said Kluempers, who also had five rebounds and four assists. "I came back from my pinkie, and I've spent extra time in the gym to get my shot back and I've just been working and working with (Eastern head coach Brady Sallee) and he tells me just to relax, do what I do, and I've just gotten more confident with it."
The Panthers, 5-7, 9-2 Ohio Valley Conference, struggled to shoot only 38 percent in the first half, ending in a 29-29 tie. But they came out on fire in the second half, connecting on seven of their first eight shots and shot 60 percent from the field for the half.
"I was very impressed with the second half that we played," Sallee said. "It was very methodical. There was really only one run in it, and that was the run that ended up separating us by 10 or 11 points and that's the way the game went."
After Jacksonville State, 4-17, 1-10, took a two-point lead with 17 minutes, 20 seconds remaining, Eastern went on a 7-0 run keyed by layups by Kluempers and senior forward Rachel Galligan, and capped off by a 3-pointer from senior guard Megan Edwards.
"The offense was executing really well," said Galligan, who had 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
"It was nice to see (Kluempers) hit some shots, and (senior guard Ellen Canale) come out of the chute on fire. We moved the ball really well tonight."
The Panthers remain in second place in the league behind Murray State (13-6, 8-1).
Red-shirt junior guard Dominique Sims added 12 points for the Panthers while Edwards and Canale had nine and eight points, respectively. Junior forward Maggie Kloak chipped in with eight points.
Sophomore guard Zenobia Pitts led the Gamecocks with 12 points and six assists.
The Panthers next game is Wednesday when they welcome in-state foe Illinois-Chicago. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. in Lantz Arena.
Women's standings
Team / OVC / Overall
Murray State / 8-1 / 13-6
Eastern Illinois / 9-2 / 15-7
Tennessee State / 8-3 / 12-10
Austin Peay / 8-3 / 12-10
Morehead State / 7-4 / 13-10
SE Missouri / 7-4 / 11-10
Eastern Kentucky / 3-8 / 6-14
Tennessee Tech / 2-9 / 4-18
Jacksonville State / 1-10 / 4-17
UT Martin / 0-9 / 2-17
Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.
She scored a season-high 14 points to help lead the Eastern women's basketball team to a 71-58 victory against Jacksonville State Saturday in Lantz Arena.
Kluempers, who had been held to two points or less five times since breaking her pinkie finger Dec. 13 against Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne, shot 5-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, putting up her highest scoring total since scoring 11 in the season-opener against Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 14.
"It's all about my confidence, really," said Kluempers, who also had five rebounds and four assists. "I came back from my pinkie, and I've spent extra time in the gym to get my shot back and I've just been working and working with (Eastern head coach Brady Sallee) and he tells me just to relax, do what I do, and I've just gotten more confident with it."
The Panthers, 5-7, 9-2 Ohio Valley Conference, struggled to shoot only 38 percent in the first half, ending in a 29-29 tie. But they came out on fire in the second half, connecting on seven of their first eight shots and shot 60 percent from the field for the half.
"I was very impressed with the second half that we played," Sallee said. "It was very methodical. There was really only one run in it, and that was the run that ended up separating us by 10 or 11 points and that's the way the game went."
After Jacksonville State, 4-17, 1-10, took a two-point lead with 17 minutes, 20 seconds remaining, Eastern went on a 7-0 run keyed by layups by Kluempers and senior forward Rachel Galligan, and capped off by a 3-pointer from senior guard Megan Edwards.
"The offense was executing really well," said Galligan, who had 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
"It was nice to see (Kluempers) hit some shots, and (senior guard Ellen Canale) come out of the chute on fire. We moved the ball really well tonight."
The Panthers remain in second place in the league behind Murray State (13-6, 8-1).
Red-shirt junior guard Dominique Sims added 12 points for the Panthers while Edwards and Canale had nine and eight points, respectively. Junior forward Maggie Kloak chipped in with eight points.
Sophomore guard Zenobia Pitts led the Gamecocks with 12 points and six assists.
The Panthers next game is Wednesday when they welcome in-state foe Illinois-Chicago. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. in Lantz Arena.
Women's standings
Team / OVC / Overall
Murray State / 8-1 / 13-6
Eastern Illinois / 9-2 / 15-7
Tennessee State / 8-3 / 12-10
Austin Peay / 8-3 / 12-10
Morehead State / 7-4 / 13-10
SE Missouri / 7-4 / 11-10
Eastern Kentucky / 3-8 / 6-14
Tennessee Tech / 2-9 / 4-18
Jacksonville State / 1-10 / 4-17
UT Martin / 0-9 / 2-17
Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.
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