MONDAY'S SCORES
@Western Illinois 70,
Eastern Illinois 68
@Arkansas State 75,
Austin Peay 44
WESTERN ILLINOIS 70, EASTERN ILLINOIS 69
MACOMB, Ill. - The Panther women’s basketball team dropped a 70-68 decision to in-state rival Western Illinois on Monday night at Western Hall. EIU falls to 5-5 on the year.
Ashley Luke hit a jumper with 57 seconds remaining in the game to put the Fighting Leathernecks (5-5) up 70-68, breaking open the game’s ninth tie. EIU missed a game-tying basket with 42 seconds left before Saule Kontautaite stole an EIU pass in the closing seconds to seal the victory for WIU. The Leathernecks improved to 4-0 at home this year.
Trailing 29-27 with 4:52 on the clock in the first half, the Panthers used a 16-6 run on 4-for-6 shooting to take a 43-35 advantage into the locker room. The contest had seven ties and six lead changes until EIU used the late-half scoring surge.
WIU opened the second stanza with an 11-2 run to take a 46-45 advantage before the Panthers scored eight consecutive points to regain the lead, 53-46. The Panthers would not trail until Luke’s eventual game-winning basket in the final minute of the contest.
Mariah King scored a game-high 18 points to pace EIU, going 8-for-12 from the floor. Four other players added nine points in Ta’Kenya Nixon, Katlyn Payne, Kelsey Wyss and Sydney Mitchell. Nixon nearly posted her second career triple-double as she also added a game-high 10 assists and a game-high eight rebounds.
EIU connected on a season-high 49.1 percent of its shots, going 26-for-53 from the floor. WIU hit 45.2 percent of its field-goal attempts (28-for-62) on the night. On the glass, the Panthers had one more rebound (31-30) than the Leathernecks.
Charnelle Reed led four WIU players in double figures with 16 points while Kontautaite and Luke both added 15 points. Michele Salvatori rounded out the scoring with 10 points.
The Panthers return to action at Northern Illinois on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m.
ARKANSAS STATE 75, AUSTIN PEAY 44
JONESBORO, Ark. - – Austin Peay State University women’s basketball team was unable to shake off the rust of its recent eight-day break and fell 75-44 to Arkansas State, Monday, at the Convocation Center.
The rust showed particularly at the offensive end where Austin Peay (3-7) shot just 27 percent (17-of-63) for the contest, including only shooting 13 percent (3-of-23) from three-point range. The offensive woes negated an impressive outing under the boards where the Lady Govs grabbed a season-best 18 offensive rebounds but could convert those extra possessions into 13 points.
Arkansas State (3-7) was playing its second game in three days and found its offensive rhythm early en route to shooting an impressive 56.5 percent (29-of-52) from the floor. The Red Wolves scored on four of their final five possessions to close the first half with an 8-0 run and take a 31-20 lead into the break.
The break did not interrupt Arkansas State’s flow as it returned from the break and scored on eight of their first 11 possessions and a 14-5 run that built a 46-25 lead with 14:24 remaining and it did not look back.
Freshman Alexis Hardaway and senior Meghan Bussabarger each had eight points and four rebounds to lead Austin Peay.
Arkansas State’s Jane Morrill led all scorers with 14 points. Hannah Qedan added 12 points and six rebounds.
Austin Peay returns to home – where it has won three straight – to close out the pre-Christmas the portion of its schedule with a 7 p.m., Friday contest against Lipscomb.