Lauren Sturtevant kicked the ball out to Meggie Eck and the senior guard did what she does best: she set her feet, eyed the basket and calmly nailed a 3-pointer.

The shot put the Panthers up by 11 points with about four-and-a-half minutes to play in the first half and helped Eastern take a 15-point lead into halftime.

The Panthers grabbed nine offensive boards and went to the free-throw line 32 times in the second half to extend their lead and win their season opener against Bradley 92-75.

Freshman Jessica Huffman, who was filling in for starting point guard Megan Edwards, ran head coach Brady Sallee’s offense and created match-up problems for the Braves.

“They totally controlled the tempo of the game tonight,” said Bradley head coach Paula Buscher. “(Huffman) pushed the ball up the floor and we didn’t do a good job of picking her up. She was attacking the basket.”

Huffman scored 23 points in her first collegiate game and was one of three players in double digits. She also added seven rebounds and seven assists.

Eck scored 15 points and sophomore center Rachel Galligan added 23 points and seven rebounds in her first regular season game since being named Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year last season.

“I just wanted to be aggressive,” Galligan said. “I’m starting to develop a little more of a scorer’s mentality.”

The Panthers had to play without three guards: Edwards, who is awaiting results on an MRI on her left knee, which was injured during a game against Missouri-St. Louis; sophomore Kara Kramer, who has a stress fracture in her left foot; and sophomore Ellen Canale, who is recovering from mononucleosis.

“We can’t get down about missing them,” Eck said. “The games aren’t gonna stop.”

Eck was a big reason for the Panthers’ first-half lead.

She hit four of seven from three-point range and scored 13 of her 15 points in the first half to put Eastern up 49-34 at halftime.

“I guess that’s what I can do,” she said of her 3-pointers. “I can hurt teams with that.”

In the second half, Eck said Bradley covered her more closely, and that opened up the inside game for the Panthers.

In the second half, Galligan scored 11 points and Julie Lipperd scored five of her seven points under the basket.

The balance is something the Panthers hope carries on throughout the season.

“It’s just our offense,” Eck said. “If teams want to focus on one player, we’re just gonna hurt them with other people.”

The Panthers shot 60 percent from the field in the first half.

Bradley’s Kelly Krumweide, who had 17 points before she fouled out with 8:51 left in the game, was held scoreless in the second half.

She fouled out of the game and Galligan made both free throws to give the Panthers a 26-point lead, their biggest of the game.

Bradley cut the lead to 16 with 2:14 left, but could not get any closer.

The Braves were led in scoring by Devan Flanagan, who scored 20 points.