Issue date: 2/12/09 Section: Sports

Eastern freshman guard Pilar Walker signals to her teammates as she presses forward during a game against Southeast Missouri on Saturday in Lantz Arena. The Panthers won 73-53. Eastern will be on the road this weekend. (Eric Hiltner/The Daily Eastern News)

The Eastern women's basketball team will look to match its win total from last season with a pair of Ohio Valley Conference games on Thursday.

The Panthers (17-7, 10-2 OVC) won 19 games last season, which was the most since the 1988 team won 22 games and went to the NCAA Tournament.

After finishing 4-0 during their four-game home stand, the Panthers hit the road again this week as they travel to Morehead, Ky., at 4:15 p.m. today for a match-up with Morehead State (14-11, 8-5).

The Panthers will also travel to Richmond, Ky., at 3 p.m. Saturday to take on Eastern Kentucky (6-16, 3-10).

Eastern enters the road trip riding a five-game winning streak, including a recent run at home that saw the team rout three conference foes, as well as in-state rival Illinois-Chicago.

The Panthers trail Murray State (15-6, 10-1) in the league standings.

The home stand did not come without some troubles, however, as the Panthers lost junior guard Ashley Thomas for the season prior to the Feb. 4 game against the Flames.

The Panthers are also red-hot shooting from the floor lately. They shot better than 50 percent from the field twice during the home stand, including a 51 percent mark in their most recent win, a 73-53 victory against Southeast Missouri on Saturday."We put a lot of time into shooting the ball," Eastern head coach Brady Sallee said.

But if the Panthers want to continue their winning ways, they will have to do it on the road this week, something the team has been unable to do on a consistent basis all season. While they are 12-0 at Lantz Arena this season, they are only 3-7 away, with all three wins coming against OVC teams.

Against Morehead State, the Panthers will play a team they handled easily in their first meeting of the season, a 70-52 victory on Jan. 17.

The Eagles feature three players who average in double figures in scoring, including sophomore guard Chynna Bozeman, who averages 15.8 points per game and junior center Brittany Pittman, who leads the OVC in blocked shots and is second in rebounding with 10 per game. She also averages 11.5 points per game.

After the road trip, the Panthers will head back to Lantz Arena for their final home stand of the season, which will culminate on Senior Night as the Panthers welcome first place Murray State at 3 p.m. on Feb. 21.


Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.

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