Last season, the Eastern women’s basketball team lost by two points to Indiana State.

Wednesday, the Panthers will get another shot at beating the Sycamores in Terre Haute, Ind.

Eastern head coach Brady Sallee said the Sycamores do not have weaknesses. Guards Taylor Whitley and Brittany Schoen are the leaders of the team, averaging double-digit points per game.

Sallee said Whitley runs the Sycamore offense. When she is good, the team is good, Sallee said.

“(Whitley) plays really, really hard,” Sallee said.

Schoen has been good shooting the ball this season, as she is shooting 37 percent from the three-point line. She has made 22-of-60 three pointers.

“(Schoen) shoots the tar out of it,” Sallee said.

Sallee said the Sycamores are a big team, too. All of their forwards or centers are six-foot tall or taller.

Center Shannon Thomas is averaging nine points per game. She is the tallest player on the team, standing at six-foot-four.

“They’re huge inside, so we are going to have to be able to guard the post,” Sallee said.

The Panthers will have sophomore forward Mariah King to help defend the paint. King is averaging 18 points per game in the last three games.

With King’s success, the Panthers have won the last three games.

Sophomore forward Sydney Mitchell said the team is going to try to build on its momentum.

“Keep the winning cycle going,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said the team knows that Indiana State plays hard, and he said they are ready for it.

Sallee said the hard work is what separates the Sycamores from other good teams.

“We’re going to have to match up first and foremost, or it could be a long night,” Sallee said.

Sallee said in order to beat Indiana State the Panthers have to do a good job on defense and rebounding the ball.

In the past three games, the Panthers have held their opponents to 58 points two times, and 57 points once.

Sallee said Eastern will need to do just as good on defense in order to win.

“Any shortcoming in any of those areas, and it could be a tough one,” Sallee said.

The current roster for the Panthers has not won a game against Indiana State. They will try to win Wednesday with tip off set for 4:30 p.m.

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

Ta’Kenya Nixon, a sophomore guard, goes up for the shot against Austin Peay Saturday evening in Lantz Arena. The Panthers will play Indiana State in Terre Haute Wednesday night. (Audrey Sawyer

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