SATURDAY'S SCORES
UMKC 69,
@Eastern Illinois 53
@West Virginia 67,
Eastern Kentucky 42
UMKC 69, EASTERN ILLINOIS 53
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women's basketball fell to visiting Kansas City, 69-53 in both squads' season-openers on Saturday (Nov. 15) afternoon at Lantz Arena. EIU returns to action on Tuesday night, as the Panthers are set to travel east on I-70 to face the Jaguars of IUPUI at 6 p.m.
EIU (0-1) enjoyed an early four-point advantage before the visiting Kangaroos (1-0) eventually went on a 12-0 run to hold the 18-8 advantage. They would hold onto that lead the rest of the game.
The Panthers hit just 21 percent in the opening half but responded with a 48 percent clip in the second half as EIU was able to pull to within eight points of UMKC with just over four minutes remaining, thanks to a timely press and fastbreak points. EIU finished with a 14-0 advantage in fastbreak points.
Senior forward Arnisha Thomas paced the Panther offense with 18 points off a 7-for-17 shot mark, while adding seven boards and four free throws. Sabina Oroszova followed with eight points and ten rebounds, but was limited in her playing time due to foul trouble for most of the game, as she fouled out with nearly eight minutes to go in the contest.
Newcomers Grace Lennox and Shakita Cox each chipped in seven points with Lennox leading the defense with five steals, as sophomore Erica Brown rejected three UMKC shots to help the Panthers enjoy a seven-to-two block advantage.
UMKC had three players with double-digit points, led by Calli White's 22 points, as the 'Roos shot an even 50% for the game and held a 22-to-nine lead over Eastern in bench points.
WEST VIRGINIA 67, EASTERN KENTUCKY 42
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The Eastern Kentucky University women's basketball team led at No. 17 West Virginia for a majority of the first half; however, the host Mountaineers used a late-half run to take the lead and never looked back as they defeated the Colonels, 67-42, on Saturday night at WVU Coliseum in the first round of the Preseason WNIT.
It was EKU's first season-opening loss since the 2011-12 season.
Sophomore Michaela Hunter scored the game's first points with a jumper at the 18:25 mark of the first half, and EKU led for the next eight minutes. Bria Holmes gave WVU its first lead of the night, 13-12, on a layup with 10:33 remaining in the half, but another Hunter jumper on EKU's ensuing possession put the Colonels ahead again.
Eastern stretched its advantage to three, 19-16, on a basket by sophomore Alexus Cooper with 7:24 on the clock, but that would be it for the Colonels in the first half, as WVU ended the first 20 minutes of play on a 14-0 run and took a 30-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.
West Virginia led by double digits the rest of the way.
EKU stymied defending Big 12 champion WVU to 35.3 percent (11-of-31) shooting in the first half; however, the Mountaineers shot 52 percent (13-fo-25) from the field in the a second half in which they slowly pulled away for the win.
Holmes – the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year – led all players in the game with 23 points.
Hunter, junior Shameekia Murray and sophomore Mariah Massengill paced the Colonels with eight points apiece. Hunter also led EKU with seven rebounds on the night.
Despite missing junior Miranda Maples – last year's second-leading rebounder – to injury, EKU out-rebounded a much-taller WVU team, 24-23, in the first half. The Colonels were only out-rebounded in the game, 44-38.