Junior forward Chantelle Pressley missed a game-tying shot as Morehead State went on to beat the Eastern women’s basketball team 77-73 Saturday.

However, against the zone that the Eagles were playing, Eastern head coach Brady Sallee said he would like to have that shot every time.

“(The ball) just rolled around (the rim) and unfortunately didn’t drop for us,” Sallee said.

Sallee said his team understands the shots did not drop Saturday, but he said they are going to get over it.

Freshman guard Jordyne Crunk said it was a tough loss; however, it was what she expected from her first game against rival Morehead State.

“You always hear about (Morehead State),” Crunk said. “You knew they’d come out and play physical. We tried to play as hard as we could.”

Sallee said he thought the Panthers played hard enough to win the game, outrebounding and having a better shooting percentage than the Eagles, but the game was just a game against two good basketball teams.

“We just didn’t have some breaks go our way, but I don’t think there’s any shame in losing to Morehead, they’re a good basketball team,” Sallee said.

The game was tied 35-35 at halftime, but sophomore guard Ta’Kenya Nixon said she thought the Panthers came out in the second half looking tired.

“We came out a little lethargic in the second half like we were tired or something,” Nixon said.

Nixon said some of her teammates were in foul trouble in the first half, so they should not have been tired. Nixon said she challenged them.

“I just tried to show them that I’ve been in this game darn near the whole game,” Nixon said. “I definitely tried to lead by example in that second half. I think they fed off of it really well.”

Nixon played all 40 minutes in the game, scoring a team-high 22 points.

Nixon led by example, but Eastern turned the ball over too much to win, Sallee said.

“In a game like this, your margin for error is so slim you can’t turn it over like that,” Sallee said.

The Panthers had 20 turnovers, compared to just 15 for Morehead State.

Some of the turnovers for the Panthers were missed passes; however, Sallee said those weren’t completely terrible plays.

“In games like that, you have kids out there trying their heart out to make plays,” Sallee said. “Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. You can’t discredit the effort.”

The Panthers next game is Thursday, on the road against Murray State. Tip off is set for 5:15 p.m. Thursday in Murray, Ky.

Alex McNamee can be reached

at 581-7944 or admcnamee@eiu.edu.

Kelsey Wyss, a sophomore guard, takes the shot against Morehead State Saturday evening in Lantz Arena. Wyss scored 12 points in the Panthers 73-77 loss to the Eagles. (Audrey Sawyer

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