Spring Break
Women's Basketball: Journey begins tonight
Collin Whitchurch / Assistant Sports Editor
Issue date: 3/3/09 Section: Sports
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The Golden Eagles finished 5-2 down the stretch, with their only two losses coming to first-place Murray State and third-place Tennessee State.
"They're playing well right now, but when you get to this point I think everyone's playing well. That's what conference tournaments are all about," Sallee said. "We're catching them when they're playing well, but the good news is we are playing well too."
The Panthers beat Tech in both of their regular season meetings. They won a 50-46 game in Cookeville, Tenn., on Jan. 5 before taking a 76-56 contest on Jan. 29 in Lantz Arena.
The Golden Eagles are led by senior guard Blair Bowens, who is averaging 15.2 points per game on the season. She scored 19 points in the teams' match-up in Cookeville, a game in which the Panthers had to come back from a five-point halftime deficit to win by four.
"With them it all starts with Bowens," Sallee said. "She's an explosive scorer and an all-league caliber player."
In the Jan. 29 game in Lantz, Bowens scored 14 points, but was held scoreless in the first half as the Panthers built an 18-point lead they would not relinquish.
Senior forward Rachel Galligan will be honored before the game for breaking Eastern's record for points scored in a career.
Galligan scored 27 points in Saturday's victory against Tennessee State, passing previous record-holder Nancy Kassebaum by 10 points.
Galligan, who was named OVC Player of the Week for the fifth time in her career for last week's performance, is averaging 19 points per game against the Golden Eagles this season, putting up 16 in the team's first meeting and 22 on 6-of-7 shooting in the blowout victory in Lantz.
"Tech is really athletic. They like to drive the ball a lot and shoot the 3-pointer," Galligan said. "We know they're going to push the ball, and we have to be ready for their transition defense, and we have to block out and make sure to not give them extra opportunities."
The winner of Tuesday's game will travel to Nashville, Tenn., Friday for the semifinals of the OVC Tournament. The finals will be held Saturday.
The winner of Tech-Eastern will take on the winner of the Tennessee State-Southeast Missouri game Friday at 2 p.m. in Nashville.
Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or at cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.
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