Another stress-filled moment for the Eastern women’s basketball team happened Thursday night.

But, like what’s happened most of the season, the Panthers came out the victor once again.

Jacksonville State junior guard Cassi Stuart’s off-balanced 3-pointer missed with one second left in the game, and the Panthers held on for a 71-68 win.

Eastern (16-12, 14-5 Ohio Valley Conference) will play Samford at 5 p.m. on Saturday night at Lantz Arena, with a spot for third-place in the balance.

Eastern must win on Saturday night to secure a third-place seed for the OVC Tournament. The Panthers will only finish third if they win, and Murray State loses Saturday night.

Thursday night’s win against JSU also marks the first time Eastern has won 16 games since the 1994-95 season.

Seconds prior to Stuart’s miss, Eastern sophomore guard Dominique Sims pulled down her biggest offensive rebound of the game.

The Eastern junior guard pulled down a missed field goal attempt by Eastern junior forward Rachel Galligan and was fouled with 8.4 seconds left in the game by Stuart.

Sims made her first free throw, but missed her second, which gave JSU the opportunity to attempt a last-second 3-pointer.

It was a back and fourth game that saw nine lead changes and the score tied five times.

Jacksonville State (11-17, 8-11) tied the game at 66 on a 3-pointer by Stuart with 1:38 left.

But an inside basket by Eastern sophomore forward Maggie Kloak with 1:10 remaining gave the Panthers a 68-66 lead. Two free throws by red-shirt sophomore guard Megan Edwards with 53 seconds left extended the Panthers’ lead to four.

Eastern’s defense stepped up during the second half and held JSU on 9-of-30 from the field. Eastern led 47-35 after Eastern sophomore guard Ashley Thomas’ 3-pointer with 15:57 remaining.

But JSU would not go away.

“To their credit, they would not be deterred,” said Eastern head coach Brady Sallee. “We had to do everything we could to get out with (a win). It was a very evenly matched game.”

Eastern turned the ball over 12 times in the second half, and JSU had 10 points off those turnovers as part of JSU’s comeback.

“They are so athletic and so quick,” Eastern sophomore guard Lauren Sturtevant said. “But you always got to be on your toes with them because at any point, they can start hitting (shots) on us.”

JSU would stay within two possessions for the majority of the second half.

“I thought we took some quick, questionable shots,” Sallee said. “I thought we got caught with our pants down a couple of times where a shot was taken and we weren’t ready, but it was almost like a perfect storm. The rebound went right where we didn’t need it to, but they got it in stride and now they’re 2-on-1.”

JSU falls into a seventh-place tie with Morehead State in the conference race.

“I thought it was a great game,” JSU head coach Becky Geyer said. “Both teams competed. Both coaches, we tried our best to working anything we can to try to get an advantage. I think that is what the parity in this league has done. Teams are out competing.”

Eastern may not have made its first shot of the night, but it made its second opportunity count, especially in the first half.

The Panthers had five offensive rebounds and 14 second-chance points in the first half.

Eastern needed their most of positions, as JSU rarely missed, making 14 of its 28 shots in the first half. But Eastern shot even better (15-of-26) and led 42-33 at halftime.

Kloak led all scorers with 16 points in only 17 minutes of play, while Galligan added 15 and Sims contributed 14.

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

Sophomore guard, Dominique Sims, focuses on the basket as she sets to shoot her free-throw during Thursday nights basketball game at Lantz Arena. Sims hit a curcial shot from the foul line to put the Panthers up by three point with only seconds left in th

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