Three games best define the Eastern women’s basketball team’s season: losses to Tennessee State, Jacksonville State and Murray State.

In each instance, the young Panthers either weren’t able to capitalize on momentum from a previous victory or couldn’t figure out how to close out their opponent in the final moments.

Either way, it led to an inconsistent season for a team that finished with a 7-13 conference record, good for ninth in the 11-team Ohio Valley Conference.

It was a team that had a difficult time putting two strong halves together.

It was a team that saw leads slip away and countless turnovers and miscues lead to losses.

But, through all that, it was a team that has a tremendous upside for the future. With the Panthers losing only three seniors (Meggie Eck, Meagan Scaggs and Amanda Maxedon) and with nine of the 12 remaining players sophomores or freshmen, Eastern may look back on the 2006-07 season as a learning experience.

Despite the Panthers going from 9-11 in the OVC to 7-13, Eastern head coach Brady Sallee looks at a season filled with progression rather than recession.

“I think we had a lot of progress this year,” Sallee said. “The speed bumps we went over all year will be beneficial. When you have as many freshmen and sophomores on the floor like we did, you’re bound to have some problems. But, next year this will all turn into experience.”

Perhaps the player that gained the most experience was freshman guard Jessica Huffman. Thrust into the starting lineup after a season-ending knee injury to sophomore guard Megan Edwards before the first regular season game, Huffman showed brilliant displays of offense with a knack for hitting the big shot.

But as many highlights Huffman accomplished, she failed to display a knack for ball control, committing 170 turnovers compared to 103 assists.

In the final month of the season (eight games), Huffman looked fatigued. Her numbers echoed her exhaustion, when she finished the month shooting 38-of-114 (33 percent) and committed 47 turnovers.

“Personally, I didn’t feel fresh at the end of the season,” said Huffman who averaged 16.9 points per game. “In high school we only played 21 games. I was tired.”

While Sallee came into the season with an intense focus on rebounding, he might as well have been talking about Rachel Galligan.

The 6-foot-2 sophomore increased her rebounding from 5.8 to 8.3 per game and helped her team go from last in the OVC in rebounding margin to fourth.

“We made great strides (in rebounding),” Sallee said. “I think we can take the improvement we made in that area and move it to another facet of our game.”

One facet in where practice might not matter is end-of-game situations. All season long Sallee stressed that the Panthers failed to identify score and possession at the end of games.

A 70-67 home loss to Murray State best exemplifies Sallee’s assertion. The Panthers had a seven-point lead late in the game only to rush shots early in the shot clock and force turnovers when ball control was most important.

“Our sense of urgency wasn’t where it needed to be all year,” Huffman said. “We had a lot of games we could have closed it out a lot better. I know we’re young, but that’s not an excuse.”