The Eastern women’s basketball team may not feel fortunate to be where they are, but the Panthers also realize the abundance of opportunities that passed by.

Even with the missed chances, the Panthers still have an opportunity to reach the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with a successful weekend in Alabama.

The Panthers open their Alabama trip tonight at Jacksonville State and conclude the regular season Saturday at Samford.

While focusing on Jacksonville State and Samford on the court, the Panthers (9-18, 6-12 OVC) will keep an eye on the scoreboard to keep track of Eastern Kentucky.

Eastern Kentucky (10-17, 7-11), who remain one game ahead of the Panthers for the eighth and final playoff spot, travel to Austin Peay tonight and Tennessee State on Saturday.

The Panthers know they have to take care of their own business, but they also know that luck could play some role in Eastern gaining its second consecutive postseason berth.

It’s hard to tell which Panthers team will show up in Alabama. In Saturday’s 70-67 loss to Murray State, Eastern played one of its best games of the season only to collapse in the final minutes, giving away another victory.

“When we’re good is when we’re tough,” said Eastern head coach Brady Sallee. “We tend to bury ourselves when we’re fragile. In our minds, we’re already in the conference tournament. We got to win to keep playing. It’s as simple as that.”

Even though the Panthers own the tiebreaker over Eastern Kentucky, a trip to Alabama may be the worst thing. Since Jacksonville State and Samford joined the OVC three years ago, the Panthers have yet to beat the Gamecocks and were routed by 22 points at home against Samford.

“The fact that we’re still alive is amazing,” Sallee said. “We all feel like we’re more talented than we are, but I look at all the young kids who don’t have a clue on how to beat a top team in the league and it worries me.”

While Sallee said you can “write a book” on the all the Panthers’ implosions, the most telling chapter in that book would be turnovers and shot selection.

In the closing moments of games, the Panthers tend to throw errant passes or rush shots early in the shot clock.

“There’s a lot that goes into it,” Sallee said. “We’ve got three freshmen playing the point guard. Our go-to post player is a sophomore. But, we haven’t done a good job of understanding time and score.”

Sallee said the history of the program doesn’t help.

“Since 1990, this program has average eight wins a season,” Sallee said. “There’s nothing in the history of this program to fall back on. Usually, when you’re in a funk, you have upperclassmen, tradition and history to fall back on. We don’t have that.”

Sophomore guard, Ellen Canale, pushes the ball upcourt during Eastern’s game against Southeast Missouri. (John Bailey/The Daily Eastern News)

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