Playing without super-sub Ashley Thomas, who was out with a back injury, the Eastern women’s basketball team did not back down.

Freshman guard Madeline Kish hit the go-ahead jumper with 6 minutes, 45 seconds remaining on her only shot attempt of the game, and the Panthers never looked back in holding off Illinois-Chicago 58-48 in a non-conference battle Wednesday night at Lantz Arena.

“(Kish) came in with a sweet pull up. I mean, come on. That was just sick,” senior guard Ellen Canale said after the game. “You can’t ask for anything else in a situation like that.”

Thomas, a junior guard, missed the game with a sore back. She said after the game that the vertebrae she broke a year ago was still fractured and she was going for an MRI Thursday to learn the extent of the injury. Thomas has already been ruled out for Saturday’s game against Southeast Missouri. With Thomas out, Kish, freshman guard Pilar Walker and junior guard Lauren Sturtevant saw extended minutes off the bench and combined for eight points and eight rebounds.

Additionally, the trio, along with Canale, helped hold Flames’ leading scorer, junior guard Jessie Miller, to zero points on 0-of-10 shooting.

“I thought everybody that got minutes that doesn’t usually get a lot of them played very, very well,” Eastern head coach Brady Sallee said. “That’s what you need when you have players go out, you have to have people step up and they all did it in their own ways, but they were all very productive tonight and that’s what we’re going to have happen from here on out.”

The Panthers (16-7) won their 18th consecutive game at Lantz Arena.

The Panthers saw a two-point halftime lead turn into a four-point deficit with 9:04 remaining.

Illinois-Chicago sophomore guard Shameia Green, who had a game-high 19 points, hit four 3-pointers, including one in the second half that gave the Flames (11-9) the lead.

However, Walker and Canale keyed in on her down the stretch, holding her to only one point in the final 11:54.

“We knew she was going to be good, being their third leading scorer,” Canale said. “We weren’t expecting her to hit all of those 3s because that’s not really her shot, but we stuck to our game plan and knew she wouldn’t stay hot forever.”

Senior forward Rachel Galligan led the Panthers with 16 points while Canale added 13.

The Panthers (16-7) conclude their four-game home stand Saturday when they welcome Southeast Missouri at 3 p.m. in Lantz Arena.

The Redhawks are responsible for one of the Panthers’ two Ohio Valley Conference losses this season, a 58-51 loss in Cape Girardeau, Mo., on Jan. 10.

For Canale’s humorous take on the team’s eating habits, visit our blog.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or at cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.