A 39-point second half for the Eastern women’s basketball team was key in locking a third straight win Saturday at Lantz Arena as it played its final game of winter break.

At the half of Saturday’s game against Southeast Missouri (5-9, 2-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference), Eastern (8-8, 4-1 OVC) led 28-15. However, the Panthers were outscored 9-8 in the final 10 minutes of the half.

“I thought at the end of the first half we were getting some great looks but weren’t knocking them down,” head coach Brady Sallee said.

The second half saw Eastern in a drought and it was adding quick fouls. Senior guard Dominique Sims said the team was playing into the hands of a SEMO post player who was “playing a little dirty.”

“After a few foul calls, we got together and said ‘You know what, ladies? Let’s go, this is our game’ and then we refocused and got back in it,” Sims said.

Sims tallied 11 points by game’s end and added six rebounds. Senior forward Maggie Kloak was the team’s leading scorer with 16 points – shooting 5-of-8 from the field.

“Coach (Sallee) tells us to get the ball in the post all the time, so if I don’t start scoring, then we wouldn’t be able to keep doing that,” Kloak said. “I came out tonight and I put the ball in the basket, but I got some great passes.”

Eastern outscored the Redhawks 39-24 in the second half, as the Panthers held their opponent to 25.7 percent shooting on the night.

“The thing I like is that we put the game out of reach defensively,” Sallee said. “We didn’t do it by just knocking down every shot, or by some fancy offense. We just did it by going on defense and refusing to give them an easy look and we controlled the boards.”

Along with Kloak and Sims, two other Panthers scored in double figures – freshman guard Ta’Kenya Nixon and sophomore forward Chantelle Pressley.

As the Panthers were closing in on their third straight victory in the final minutes of Saturday’s game, sophomore guard Pilar Walker went down to the floor with an injury and had to be helped off of the floor by the team’s trainers.

At this point, the status of the team’s second leading assist-getter is unknown. Sallee has yet to report her condition.

Over winter break, Eastern went 3-3 – losing three straight non-conference games, then winning three straight OVC contests.

“We have just continued to get better throughout break and during our losing streak,” Sallee said. “Even though we were losing those games, I thought we were getting better.”

Even with three losses over the break, Sallee said the games are a blessing in disguise.

“I thought playing on the road and even at home against some good Missouri Valley teams was making us better, and that’s what a schedule like ours is supposed to do,” Sallee said. “I just kept telling the girls to look at that side of it, and to understand that we were doing all of this for a reason.”

The Panthers road trip at 4:30 p.m. Thursday against Eastern Kentucky in Richmond, Ky.

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