Ellen Canale’s return to the starting line-up last weekend was the beginning of head coach Brady Sallee’s four-guard offense.

Along with the 5-foot-9 Canale, Eastern’s four starting guards are 5-foot-8 Ashley Thomas and the 5-foot-7 pair of Jessica Huffman and Meggie Eck. The only starting forward and starter with any size is 6-foot-2 sophomore standout Rachel Galligan.

Galligan has proven she is a fantastic post player and can more than hold her own with the best of the conference. But putting on an island in the paint is just that much more pressure for the reigning Ohio Valley Conference freshman of the year.

Sallee looks to Galligan to be a leader on the team and expects a lot out of her.

When the Panthers are not racking up fast-break points and the offense slows down into a half-court set, it is Galligan that is the focal point of the offense.

Huffman’s first read and first option is routinely Galligan.

In Eastern’s 81-71 win against Creighton, Sallee said he was pleased with how many touches Huffman gave Galligan.

The forward took 15 shots, almost 30 percent of the Panthers total shots, and she played 29 minutes in the win, three more minutes than Eastern’s three other forwards combined.

Meagan Scaggs, Lindsey Kluempers and Julie Lipperd played a total of 46 minutes in two games at the State Farm Tiger Classic. The three scored only four points (all by Lipperd against Alabama A&M) but pulled down an impressive 17 rebounds.

That is exactly what Eastern needs from another forward in the starting line-up.

The Panther guards will get their points and Galligan will score down low, but Eastern needs an energetic post player to get rebounds and play tough defense.

Scaggs, Kluempers and Lipperd are perfect for this role.

Huffman is an obvious starter at point guard, as is Galligan in a hybrid center/power forward role, but the other three positions should be changed out frequently.

Sallee’s high-octane system takes a lot out of his players because of the constant motion and frequent substitutions are needed.

Thomas, Eck, Canale, Brittney Coleman and Amanda Maxedon have seen a good amount of minutes rotating between the two shooting guard positions. However, Kluempers, Scaggs and Lipperd should see more floor time at small forward to take the load off Galligan’s already heavily loaded shoulders.

Tennessee Tech will be a good showcase of the four-guard offense’s ability to function against a taller squad, even though the Golden Eagles are the worst rebounding team in the OVC.

Rebounding and defending taller players are always the issues with a four-guard offense but the Panther’s four guards will get a chance to prove themselves as a whole tonight in conference play-because even Galligan can’t do it all by herself.