The sound of a basketball bouncing was the only noise coming from Lantz Arena.

Sophomore forward Julie Lipperd had her iPod earbuds in while she worked on mid-range jumpers and post moves long after Eastern’s 63-42 loss to Southeast Missouri on Wednesday night.

The janitor mopping up the floor after the game was her only company.

The Panther made only four shots in the first half en route to a 22 percent shooting performance. Eastern finished 12 of 55 from the floor and it committed 21 turnovers.

“It was hard to get anything going,” said head coach Brady Sallee. “Nights like this are frustrating for everybody. I thought we shot ourselves in the foot with some of the decisions we made. You would think in mid-February, we wouldn’t throw the ball to the other team like we did.”

Eastern made just three first half baskets in a 63-41 loss to Samford on Feb. 3. Against Samford, the Panthers missed shots despite having open looks at the basket.

But against SEMO, forward Rachel Galligan was controlled inside and the Redhawks’ defense forced Eastern’s guards into awkward shots.

“When teams are missing perimeter shots you can help a little more inside,” said SEMO acting head coach John Ishee.

Ishee said a team that is struggling with their shooting tends to struggle in other areas of the game.

“Scoring cures a lot of ills,” Ishee said. “When you’re making shots you tend to defend a little bit harder, they transition more and they’re more comfortable; it’s just human nature. When somebody comes into the gym the first thing they do is not break down and start sliding. They pick [the ball] up and shoot it.”

SEMO forward Missy Whitney and 6-foot-6 center Joiceline Thesing held Galligan to four of 14 shooting and 11 points.

“They could never get into a rhythm which allowed us to put more pressure on Rachel down inside,” Ishee said.

Galligan had seven of her points at the free throw line. Free throws were the only strong area Wednesday night for the Panthers – they connected on 15 of 21 attempts as a team.

Sophomore forward Rachel Galligan goes up for a lay-up during the women’s basketball game Wednesday night against SEMO. (John Bailey/The Daily Eastern News)

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