Spring Break
Women's Basketball: Panthers welcome in-state foe
Collin Whitchurch / Assistant Sports Editor
Issue date: 2/4/09 Section: Sports
Eastern women's basketball head coach Brady Sallee scheduled a non-conference game in the midst of an Ohio Valley Conference championship race for one specific reason.
"This is one that can prepare us for a conference tournament," Sallee said as his team prepares to take on Illinois-Chicago at 7 p.m. tonight in Lantz Arena. "This will prepare us for the Murray States, the (Southeast Missouri's) and other high-level opponents with maybe a little less implications."
The Panthers face the Flames (11-8, 5-4 in the Horizon League), which are in the middle-of-the-pack in their league.
Illinois-Chicago feature two players who average double-figures in scoring average, but is known mostly for its defense as it tops the Horizon League in field goal percentage defense, rebounding and blocked shots.
Sallee said he sees a lot of athleticism with Flames, and their offense is run similarly to the Panthers in that they can score out of all four of their perimeter spots.
"They've got some size and really, really good depth," Sallee said. "They run a couple of things that are going to give us some problems and they're just pretty good at what they do."
The Flames are led by junior guard Jessie Miller, who averages 13.4 points per game, ranking her fourth in the Horizon League. Miller is averaging 21 points per game in her last two contests.
Additionally, freshman forward Jasmine Bailey averages 10.9 points per game for the Flames and a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game. They are holding their opponents to 37 percent shooting from the field and are averaging nearly eight steals per game.
Sallee said that the Flames' aggressiveness is something the Panthers will have to be concerned with.
"They just play their tail off and the one thing you see with them is they compete with everyone," Sallee said. "They haven't been outclassed in one game. They've lost some, but none where they didn't belong."
After Wednesday's game the Panthers (15-7, 7-2 in the OVC) will conclude their four-game home stand with a rematch of one of their two OVC losses on the season against Southeast Missouri at 3 p.m. Saturday in Lantz Arena.
Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or at cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.
"This is one that can prepare us for a conference tournament," Sallee said as his team prepares to take on Illinois-Chicago at 7 p.m. tonight in Lantz Arena. "This will prepare us for the Murray States, the (Southeast Missouri's) and other high-level opponents with maybe a little less implications."
The Panthers face the Flames (11-8, 5-4 in the Horizon League), which are in the middle-of-the-pack in their league.
Illinois-Chicago feature two players who average double-figures in scoring average, but is known mostly for its defense as it tops the Horizon League in field goal percentage defense, rebounding and blocked shots.
Sallee said he sees a lot of athleticism with Flames, and their offense is run similarly to the Panthers in that they can score out of all four of their perimeter spots.
"They've got some size and really, really good depth," Sallee said. "They run a couple of things that are going to give us some problems and they're just pretty good at what they do."
The Flames are led by junior guard Jessie Miller, who averages 13.4 points per game, ranking her fourth in the Horizon League. Miller is averaging 21 points per game in her last two contests.
Additionally, freshman forward Jasmine Bailey averages 10.9 points per game for the Flames and a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game. They are holding their opponents to 37 percent shooting from the field and are averaging nearly eight steals per game.
Sallee said that the Flames' aggressiveness is something the Panthers will have to be concerned with.
"They just play their tail off and the one thing you see with them is they compete with everyone," Sallee said. "They haven't been outclassed in one game. They've lost some, but none where they didn't belong."
After Wednesday's game the Panthers (15-7, 7-2 in the OVC) will conclude their four-game home stand with a rematch of one of their two OVC losses on the season against Southeast Missouri at 3 p.m. Saturday in Lantz Arena.
Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or at cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.
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