You would not think that a bunch of bench players were capable of beating an opponent’s entire roster. You would not think, but you should start now.

The women’s basketball team dominated Tennessee Martin Saturday, winning 74-47. That counts for another win on the team’s current seven-game streak.

Eastern’s bench scored 40 of the team’s 74 points against the Skyhawks, leading me to believe the Panthers’ bench would have been capable of defeating a lackadaisical UT-Martin team.

Sure, 40 points is not 47, but there are some definite “what ifs” to what could’ve, should’ve and almost did happen.

What if freshman forward Mariah King would not have gotten popped in the nose, forcing her to temporarily leave the game at the end of the first half?

King finished the game as Eastern’s leading scorer with 14 points off the bench. If she would have been able to play out the rest of the first half, you could tack on a few more points.

Senior forward Marie Baker was on fire in every sense of the word during her eight minutes of play. What if head coach Brady Sallee would have left her in, postponing her eventual standing ovation?

At the rate she was scoring — going 4-of-7 shooting – you could probably tack on at least enough points to match her career high of 13.

What if sophomore guard Madeline Kish would have played more than just 14 minutes? She was as hot as anyone shooting from beyond the arc.

Kish stepped into the game and drained 2-of-4 three pointers to jolt the Panthers to an even bigger lead. If she had played more, maybe she would have hit two more.

I have not even mentioned freshman guard Kelsey Wyss (three points), senior guard Lauren Sturtevant (one point), or freshman forward Sydney Mitchell (eight points). Who knows what else these three girls might have accomplished?

For the second time this season, I have witnessed a “wow” factor come from the Panthers’ bench players.

Give or take a couple points, the bench could have outscored UT-Martin’s entire team.

Next time, I will not be surprised when I see this type of effort, spark and result from the bench – I mean, it has happened before.

The date was Nov. 29, earlier this season, and Eastern was playing Brescia (Ky.). The Panthers won the game convincingly, 110-28. Eastern’s bench scored 57 points.

Think about this – 57 points could have either matched or overtaken six of Eastern’s opponents this season.

Also, three times, that score would beat the Panthers’ single-game score.

By the bench scoring 40 points Saturday, two of Eastern’s opponents would have lost this season – Brescia (28 points) and Southeast Missouri (39 points).

At times, the bench is scoring a ridiculous number of points. Other times, the bench is just scoring enough points to put Eastern over the top.

So, can I refer to the bench players as secret weapons? If so, Sallee has a bunch.

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