Following Tuesday’s 101-72 loss to Illinois State, the Panthers decided to put lids – or what they call “domes” – on their basketball hoops to help shift their focus to defense and rebounding.

At this point in the season, it may be Eastern’s best defense.

The Panthers have surrendered 203 points in their previous two losses to Illinois State and Indiana State. It marks the first time in 14 years Eastern has given up two 100-point games in a season.

The game in which the Panthers gave up the most points last season was in an 86-77 loss to Illinois-Chicago. Now that they’ve installed their new offense, it might be time to go back to their old defense.

Eastern will have a chance to work out its defensive kinks in the Missouri Tournament, which begins tonight with the Panthers playing Alabama A&M at 5 p.m.

If the Panthers win their opening round game, they will face the winner of Creighton-Missouri in Saturday’s finals, or the loser if Eastern drops its opening round game.

Not to disrespect any of the teams the Panthers will face this weekend in Columbia, Mo., but the Panthers’ attention remains on themselves rather than the opposition.

Eastern began its non-conference season with impressive victories against Bradley and Illinois-Springfield, but have recently stumbled, dropping its last three games.

Although, there may be a litany of reasons for the Panthers’ defensive breakdowns, Eastern head coach Brady Sallee and his players seem to be in agreement on the possible cause.

“I think our youthfulness is showing more on the defensive end,” Sallee said. “My defensive system is not an easy one to learn and play in. Most of (the freshmen) are coming from situations where they were told not to foul because they had to stay on the floor. They’re trying to learn more and more about college defense.”

With two freshmen in the backcourt in Ashley Thomas and Jessica Huffman, Sallee wasn’t sure if this weekend would be a good time to re-insert Ellen Canale back into the starting lineup.

The sophomore guard sat out two weeks with mononucleosis, but played sparingly in the previous two losses.

Canale’s knack for hustling and being regarded as one of the team’s best perimeter defenders may be what the Panthers need going into their final non-conference tune-up.

“I’m feeling a little stronger to the point where I can help our team,” Canale said. “Two weeks is a long time to be off.”

In Eastern’s last two games, opponents have shot 27 of 56 (48 percent) from 3-point range.

“Dribble penetration has led to lot of kickout threes,” Sallee said. “The last game we broke down quite a bit in transition, and when you do that it allows open 3-pointers. But, those teams have been hot, too.”

Rebounding was another issue pinpointed by the Panthers for their defensive lapses. UIC and Illinois State grabbed 20 offensive rebounds against Eastern this season. It was reason enough for Sallee to bring out the “domes.”

“It’s tough to play perfect defense,” Canale said. “We’re having a lot of trouble communicating. People forget we’re still young, but we need to buckle down.”