The Eastern women’s basketball team’s Achilles’ heel is back.

After losing the points in the paint battle 44-14 in Thursday’s 84-76 loss to Southeast Missouri, the Panthers were roughed up again in Saturday’s 72-52 loss at Murray State.

The Lady Racers did the same to Eastern as they dominated the paint (32-12) and handed the Panthers (10-16, 9-9 OVC) their fourth consecutive loss and fifth in their last six games.

“It’s definitely frustrating,” Eastern head coach Brady Sallee said. “But we’re trying to get through as best as we can.”

Murray State (10-15, 8-10) used 11-3 and 8-0 runs in the first half to grab a 38-28 lead at halftime.

Not only were the Lady Racers controlling the paint, but they also forced Eastern into 24 turnovers. They made those turnovers count as they had a 26-8 advantage in points off turnovers.

“We have to realize that every possession means something and use more focus,” Sallee said. “A lot of the credit can be given to Murray State. They pressured us and we forced a lot of passes.”

Murray State also had the benefit of balanced scoring as four players scored in double figures, led by Joi Scott’s 17 points.

Freshman center Rachel Galligan and senior guard Megan Sparks scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, to pace Eastern. Nobody else could get anything going for the Panthers as the rest of the team scored 22 points on 9-of-30 shooting.

Sallee remains concerned with the Panthers’ mental fatigue right now as opposed to physical fatigue. With three freshmen in the starting lineup and playing meaningful minutes in their first season, they may have hit the proverbial brick wall.

“They may be a little tired between the ears,” Sallee said. “But, I think we’re in a good position to make some changes and get them going again before the tournament.”

Thanks to losses by Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee-Martin on Thursday night, the Panthers clinched their first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament berth since 2003.

The Panthers climbed back into Saturday’s game after junior guard Amanda Maxedon drained a three-pointer to cut Murray State’s lead to 56-46 with 4 minutes, 25 seconds left. Murray State ripped off another 8-0 run to put the Panthers away for good.

“We had a hard time putting anything together,” Sallee said. “To (Murray State’s) credit, they just forced us into so many mistakes.”

The Panthers looked like they had righted their ship of problems a few weeks ago with a 67-56 victory at Samford.

Since that game, the Panthers have reverted to their old ways of getting pounded on the inside and going into untimely scoring droughts.

“We’re still in the race,” Sallee said. “These last two games are pivotal to how we can perform come tournament time.”

The Panthers host Jacksonville State on Thursday and Samford on Saturday. Eastern is currently tied for fifth in the OVC with Morehead State.

Sallee feels his team hasn’t lost confidence, despite their recent stretch.

“We don’t want to just get in the conference tournament,” Sallee said. “But we want to win some games and make a statement about our program.”