Fighting for their postseason lives, Eastern played one of its best games of the season en route to a 79-61 victory Thursday over Austin Peay.

With the victory and Eastern Kentucky’s loss to Murray State, the Panthers are one game behind Eastern Kentucky for the eighth and final playoff seed.

Rachel Galligan, who only had eight points and four rebounds in Eastern’s 74-62 loss to Austin Peay earlier in the season, bounced back with one of her strongest games of the season.

The 6-2 sophomore had as many points (eight) and rebounds (seven) in the first half then she did in the first meeting in Charleston. Galligan continued to pound the interior of Austin Peay’s defense in the second half, finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds.

Coming into Thursday night’s game in Clarksville, Tenn., the Panthers (8-16, 5-10 OVC) faced a familiar task of trying to shut down another Ohio Valley Conference post player in Kellea Reeves.

The 6-4 junior from Austin Peay (8-16, 7-8 OVC) finished with 11 points on three-of-10 shooting.

Not only did Eastern control Reeves, but the Panthers also controlled the boards, with a 45-38 advantage.

It was a note of interest for Eastern coach Brady Sallee and the Panthers, especially with Austin Peay out-rebounding the Panthers 49-28 in the first meeting.

“I told the team before the game that we have to be tougher than they were,” Sallee said. “When my team is the tougher team, our chances go way up.”

Although Galligan made her usual contribution, it was the play of Marie Baker that was surprising.

Before the victory over Austin Peay, Baker had played in only 15 games, scoring 16 total points.

However, she was the first Panther Sallee called off the bench. The 6-2 freshman finished a solid game with six points and four rebounds.

“We needed to change some things up a little bit,” Sallee said. “She’s been playing better in practice. She’s a player that’s big and can finish.”

The Panthers finally grasped control of the game that had a chance of slipping away. With Eastern holding a 47-42 lead, the Panthers went on a 22-8 run to open up a 69-50 lead. The run was paced by Galligan and Jessica Huffman, who combined for 15 of 22 points to help the Panthers pull away.

The Panthers will have an extra day off on Saturday to prepare for a 4:30 p.m. Sunday home game against Tennessee-Martin. The rare Sunday game was made to accommodate ESPNU, who will telecast the game.

“We’re thankful to play on ESPN,” Sallee said. “Not everybody gets that chance. We’re going to take it and look at it as something special.”