Issue date: 3/4/09 Section: Sports

Eastern senior guard Ellen Canale defends Tennessee Tech senior guard Blair Bowens on Tuesday night in Lantz Arena. The Panthers beat the Golden Eagles 71-65 to advance to the semifinals of the league tournament. (Eric Hiltner/The Daily Eastern News)

Jubilation and a deep breath.

After Tuesday night's 71-65 victory against Tennessee Tech, Eastern women's basketball players leapt in the air and celebrated with one another as members of the Blue Crew flocked the court to join in the victory celebration.

But the hugs and congratulations seemed to come more out of relief than in celebratory fashion. The Panthers had outlasted a team they had defeated handily in Lantz Arena on Jan. 29 - winning by 20 - and after the victory senior forward Rachel Galligan acknowledged that there are things the team needs to work on in preparation for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament semifinals on Friday.

"(Tennessee State) is going to give us a lot of pressure, and we're going to need to handle it both on the press and in the half-court," Galligan said. "We need to not turn the ball over as much, and the same goes for rebounding. They crash the boards a lot, and we need to not get beat on the boards."

The Panthers committed 20 turnovers in the victory, 11 of which came in the second half against a physical, Tennessee Tech full-court press.

Eastern head coach Brady Sallee was pleased with most of the numbers his team put up in the victory. They shot 56 percent from the field, had 24 assists for their 26 total field goals and won the rebound battle 32-30. But he was not pleased with the number of turnovers.

Sallee said after the game that while it's tough to work on any specific thing this late in the season, there are some areas of concern that will be focused on in practice.

"(Wednesday) will be a lot of preparation, getting ready to TSU," he said. "We will definitely come out and talk about some things against the press."

Tuesday's victory moved the Panthers one step closer to their goal of an NCAA Tournament appearance, and a victory Friday against Tennessee State will put them in the tournament finals for the second time in school history, with their first appearance coming last season.

But it was clear the Panthers did not want to worry about the Lady Tigers just yet. They were focused on celebrating a big, important victory in their quest for a tournament title, and the victory came in the team's final game in Lantz Arena this season.

So while the team knows there is still work left to do in order to achieve their ultimate goal, Tuesday was a night of relief.


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

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