Jessica Huffman has been looking for all the right things since returning from her stress fracture.

She found them Saturday night.

The Eastern sophomore guard finished with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists in Eastern’s 68-52 victory against Morehead State at Lantz Arena.

Huffman, who has been struggling to play through an injury since early December, only committed one turnover in 15 minutes of play.

Huffman was key in the second half for the Panthers. The Whiteland, Ind., native scored five of Eastern’s nine points to break open a 59-43 lead with 6 minutes, 7 seconds remaining in the game.

Huffman had a step and dribble-drive jumper, a jumper in the paint and hit a foul shot during that stretch.

“She played great,” said Eastern head coach Brady Sallee. “She played like the Huffman we all know. That’s what she’s been doing the last 3 of 4 games. It was no surprise or like ‘oh, my gosh, where’d that come from.’ She’s playing very, very important minutes.”

Huffman, the 2007 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, missed four games this season because of the stress fracture.

“I know she made some big, big buckets,” Sallee said. “She defended for us and did some really good things for us on both ends of the floor.”

As a freshman, Huffman averaged 5.9 turnovers per game, but brought that number down during her sophomore season (3.4 per game). Huffman takes it one day at a time.

She started at point guard last season and was a preseason conference selection this season.

“(The injury) is something I deal with everyday,” Huffman said. “Some days are worse, some days are better. It’s tough, but I’m a tough kid, and I’m going to play through it.”

Huffman still shows her athleticism. That hasn’t faded. Huffman had a steal in the first half, drove down the court, crossed the lane and finger rolled the ball into the basket around 6-foot-3 Morehead State sophomore center Brittany Pittman.

Huffman’s basket extended Eastern’s lead, 20-10, with 9:24 remaining in the first half.

“I couldn’t be happier because she stuck with what we were doing,” Sallee said. “She’s playing in that system. It may not be perfected for all her skills, but right now it’s perfectly suited to us winning a lot of games. And that’s what she’s about. That’s what she cares about.”

Huffman has that same philosophy.

“We’re winning right now, so it’s all good,” Huffman said.

The Panthers (11-9, 10-2 OVC) played without Huffman for four games and went 4-0 in that stretch, while Huffman sat on the bench with a boot. She still wears a high black sock and ankle braces, but Huffman said she’s glad she’s back on the court.

Huffman and the rest of the Panthers return to the court against Jacksonville State at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday in Jacksonville, Ala.

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