They are who they thought they were.

Translation: Ohio State is the team Eastern thought the Ohio State women’s basketball team was. However, the Panthers played better against the nationally ranked Buckeyes than I, and many others, thought they would.

Senior forward Maggie Kloak said she expected the Buckeyes to make runs, in the 91-68 loss Friday. Ohio State did. The Buckeyes made two huge runs during the game, including a 19-0 and 10-0 streak.

Many times, a streak of 19-0 in the middle of the first half will put a weaker team out of its game against a much stronger opponent; however, Eastern proved it wasn’t a much weaker team, as the Panthers went on an 11-0 run to counter the Buckeyes’ 19 points.

Senior guard Dominique Sims said she expected Ohio State to be bigger, faster, stronger and quicker. The Buckeyes were. They ripped down 59 rebounds compared to Eastern’s 31. The Buckeyes capitalized after grabbing 20 offensive rebounds, as they scored 26 second-chance points.

Eastern head coach Brady Sallee said the Buckeyes’ size started paying off in the second half, when the No. 3 ranked team went on its 10-0 run, which clinched the game. All of Eastern’s expectations were proved true. The Buckeyes’ junior forward Jantel Lavender is deservedly a first-team All-American, and the team is worthy of its No. 3 national ranking. The Buckeyes might be a good team, but the Panthers proved they have a bright future ahead of them, this season, by sticking with their physically superior opponent.

Two of Eastern’s freshman guards led the team in points – Kelsey Wyss, with 12, and Ta’Kenya Nixon with 10. The Panthers also proved that even when their senior leaders have an off game, there are other players who can pick up the slack. Sims got into some early foul trouble and senior guard Ashley Thomas had a poor shooting night, but bench players such as Wyss and sophomore guard Pilar Walker made up for the two seniors’ down games.

Another high point was when the Panthers rebounded from being beaten down by the Buckeyes 19-point unanswered streak. Following the run, Eastern came back with an 11-point unanswered streak. It was at this point of the game in which the Panthers showed they had an uncanny ability to face adversity, and to come back from it. The 11-point streak put Eastern right back into the game and at halftime, Ohio State’s lead was minimized to 10 points.

The Panthers lost 91-68. They weren’t the biggest, strongest, quickest and best team in their gameww; however, they still proved a lot.

Spotting the positives in such a negative result is difficult. Yet, for the Panthers, there’s a lot to see.

Alex McNamee can be reached at 581-7944 or admcnamee@eiu.edu.

The Eastern women’s basketball team got 79 total minutes out of its four freshmen in Friday’s Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) game against No. 3 Ohio State (3-0).

(more…)