The pain that resonated in Rachel Galligan’s toe has actually paid dividends for head coach Brady Sallee’s bench production.

The junior forward injured her toe in late November and had to miss five games because of the injury.

“I’ve never missed that much basketball,” Galligan said of either high school or college basketball. “It (was) rough having to be out for that long.”

Once she came back on Dec. 19 at Morehead State, the Panthers were in the midst of a six-game winning streak. She finished with eight points in only 17 minutes that night in Morehead, Ky.

During the last three games, the Bloomington native has shown the consistent scoring prowess that made her a first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection last year.

Galligan has finished with 70 points in the last three games.

She had 27 against Murray State, 17 against Southeast Missouri and scored 26 on Monday at Austin Peay.

But Galligan doesn’t even notice the toe injury now.

“I’ve been trying not to think about it,” she said.

Galligan said she feels fine without the protective boot on her toe and that it doesn’t even hurt when someone steps on it.

Galligan said being out helped her see more of the court and what was working and what was not working.

The OVC preseason selection averages 16.1 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Galligan credited sophomore forward Maggie Kloak for stepping in successfully and filling her role. Kloak finished with double figures in all of the games Galligan missed. Kloak even finished with a double-double against Tenneseee Tech.

Kloak has taken the starting position away from Galligan, but Galligan still receives plenty of playing time.

Galligan is averaging 23.6 minutes off the bench in the five games she’s played in a reserve role.

“She’s been a great presence,” said red-shirt sophomore Megan Edwards. “(She’s) helped us a lot.”

Edwards said Galligan doesn’t stand around waiting for the action to happen, which is different from most post players who wait for an entrance pass into the post.

And with Sallee’s plan of a new high-low offense, Galligan fits in perfectly.

Edwards complimented on how well Galligan was finishing.

Galligan finished 10-of-14 against Austin Peay on Monday and finished 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

“Clearly, the kid’s playing like one of the better players in the league,” said Eastern head women’s basketball coach Brady Sallee. “Her production is everything you would want out of that position. It’s fun having someone playing down (in the post) playing at a very high level.”

Kevin Murphy may be reached at 581-7944 or at kjmurphy@eiu.edu.

Rachel Galligan, junior forward, leads the team with average rebounds per game (6.3), points (161) and average points per game (16.1) so far this in this season’s 10 games. (Molly Clutter

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