Eastern head coach Brady Sallee walked into his team’s locker room before Thursday night’s game at Tennessee Tech. Sallee was preparing a Knute Rockne-like speech when he stopped two seconds into it, realizing the Panthers didn’t need the extra rah-rah from their coach.

Many of the current Panthers were on last year’s team that finished the season with an 83-69 loss to Tennessee Tech in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

They returned to Cookeville, Tenn., in impressive fashion with an 89-70 victory against the Golden Eagles.

After last season’s postseason loss, it was clear Tennessee Tech was the dominant team. But with the loss of OVC Player of the Year Emily Christian and the Panthers’ experience, the apparent notion after Thursday night’s game was how much the two teams have changed.

Sallee came into the game expecting the Golden Eagles to play zone defense and eliminate Rachel Galligan’s effectiveness in the post.

However, the much slower Golden Eagles ran a full-court press that played right into the Panthers’ hands.

With Eastern (4-4, 1-0 OVC) trailing 16-11 in the first half, the Panthers ripped off a 12-0 run to go up 23-16 and take the lead for good.

The momentum shifted when guards Jessica Huffman and Ashley Thomas broke past the press and dished to Galligan for easy scores.

“We practice against the press all week,” Sallee said. “It doesn’t affect us, because we’re so used to it. I was a little surprised at their strategy, but I was pleased with how we handled it.”

The most pleasant surprise came from Thomas, who scored a career-high 21 points on seven of 12 shooting from the field, including four for six from 3-point range.

With Huffman picking up two early fouls in the first half, Thomas ran the point, helping dictate the pace.

“She was exactly what I recruited,” Sallee said of Thomas. “Her aggressiveness shooting the three-pointer was huge and the way she handled the ball and took the reigns when (Huffman) went out was impressive.”

Thomas’ contributions were none bigger then the start of the second half. Thomas scored 12 of the Panthers’ points in a 27-8 run, that helped push Eastern’s lead to 67-43. Eastern also received solid contributions from both Huffman (17 points) and Galligan (15 points).

For many of the freshmen, winning at the Eblen Center must have not seemed like a big deal, but Sallee knew the struggles coming in. Thursday’s victory marked the Panthers’ first in Cookeville since the 1996-97 season, and Sallee’s first overall against Tennessee Tech (1-6, 0-2 OVC).

“Anyone that’s serious about winning the OVC has to win in Cookeville,” Sallee said.

Although Sallee was proud of his team, he pointed to Tech’s Meagan Lyons’ hip injury as a big reason for the Panthers’ blowout victory.

Sallee credits Lyons with being the Golden Eagles best player, but wasn’t sure if she would have been a 19-point difference.

“I think we’re flying high right now,” Sallee said of his team’s emotions after the game. “We’re feeling pretty good, but we won’t be satisfied unless we get a win Saturday (at Tennessee State).”