Eastern came into Saturday’s 84-54 victory against Tennessee State with one of the most potent scoring duos in the Ohio Valley Conference.

But with freshman Jessica Huffman in a game-long funk and sophomore Rachel Galligan reduced to a non-factor, the Panthers leaned on the unassuming duo of freshman Ashley Thomas and senior Amanda Maxedon.

The Panthers’ offense struggled mightily in the first half, while it was Thomas providing a lift with 16 of Eastern’s 35 first-half points. She finished with 21 points, matching a career-high she set on Dec. 28 at Louisville.

When Tennessee State (4-14, 1-8 OVC) made a slight adjustment to Thomas in the second half, it was the energetic Maxedon who picked up the pace.

With the Panthers (7-13, 4-7 OVC) leading 42-33, Maxedon helped pace a 16-6 run, scoring 11 of the 16 points.

Maxedon’s career-high before Saturday’s 17-point performance was seven.

Having the defensive energy she brings to each game, she has never been a player to look for her shot.

But Eastern head coach Brady Sallee made sure to change that in practice last week.

“I asked her to start shooting the ball,” Sallee said. “Her percentages show that when she gets open, she makes her shots. The problem is that she’s such a good kid, a good teammate that you have to let her know to look for her shot. Shooting the ball is her strength.”

Trying to get Maxedon to talk about her best collegiate performance is as difficult as trying to stop Sallee from talking.

Her humility and work ethic attitude have rubbed off a team that is trying to position itself for a conference-tournament run.

“Coach has been telling me to be more aggressive and take it to the basket,” Maxedon said. “It feels good. It’s a big team win.”

Thomas maintained her point-guard duties in the second half when Huffman committed several costly turnovers in the opening minutes.

Although Huffman has had one of the best seasons ever for an Eastern freshman, it was the other freshman’s opportunity to showcase her versatility.

Whether she wanted to or not.

“Not really,” Thomas said when asked about if she liked to play point guard. “I prefer the (two-guard) position. Coming out today and starting strong helped. I got some confidence back in practice.”

The standout performances by Thomas and Maxedon are something Sallee has been looking for all year. The inconsistency to find a third scorer and create scoring balance has been a downfall for the Panthers. Sallee hopes Maxedon and Thomas’ games are more of a trend rather than an anomaly.

“If a team is going to put all their eggs into one basket by taking out (Huffman) and (Galligan),” Sallee said, “then we have to be able to have other players come out and step up.”