Eastern head coach Brady Sallee knows that any team can win on any given day.

The Panthers (12-10, 11-3 OVC) are preparing for a critical stretch in drive for the Ohio Valley Conference regular season title with a game against Austin Peay at 5 tonight in Lantz Arena. The Panthers currently sit in second place behind Southeast Missouri (15-6, 10-2) and are barely above Samford (17-6, 10-3).

Austin Peay (5-16, 2-10) can pose a threat with their guard play and in the post.

But it will be the Eastern defense that can put the game away by controlling the post players and the perimeter.

The Panthers beat the Lady Governors on their home court 72-55 on Jan. 7. The Eastern defense limited Austin Peay to 19 points in the first half and held them to 27 percent shooting from the field for the game.

At Wednesday’s practice, the Panthers worked on their defense. They worked to make sure the pass didn’t go into the post to the center or the forward.

The Panthers expect a strong offense from the Lady Governors’ post players. Sophomore center Janay Armstrong scored 26 points, junior forward April Thomas scored 16 points and freshman forward Ashley Herring finished with 10 points in a 74-72 loss against Tennessee State on Feb. 2.

“In the last couple of games, they’ve stepped it up in the post,” said Eastern junior guard Ellen Canale. “We really focused today in practice making sure that we’re on the help (side), making sure our posts are on the high sides so we can make it harder for them to get it in there.”

Armstrong is a transfer from West Virginia and Thomas transferred from Chattooga State Community College.

“We’ve got to be ready for some post players that are playing at a high level,” Sallee said. “We’re going to have our hands full, and we’re going to be real good defensively like we were at their place.”

Coupled with the defense is Eastern’s strong offense, which was responsible for the largest margin of a conference victory this season by the Panthers.

Eastern did what it did best in its high-low offense against Austin Peay: they the fed the ball to Rachel Galligan. Galligan erupted for 26 points in 10-of-14 shooting and had it easy with the Lady Governors’ post players. In addition to the 26 points, Galligan had eight rebounds in 24 minutes.

Galligan came off the bench against Austin Peay, and with sophomore forward Maggie Kloak starting, she could work against the Austin Peay defense. Kloak finished with six points and seven rebounds.

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