The Eastern women’s basketball team had a dominating win Saturday as they won by 16 against Jacksonville State, just in time for the month of February.

Some fans were probably worried, and rightfully so. The Panthers were sliding on a four-game losing streak, and even head coach Brady Sallee said that is not something this team was used to.

The Panthers are not used to losing four straight games; they are used to winning. Last season, they mounted a 13-game winning streak.

This was a young team on a four-game skid, yet they found a way to come out Saturday and smash any rumors that their season was falling by the wayside.

The win proved that the talent on Eastern’s roster is not a bunch of fifth place talent. The team proved it belongs at the top of the Ohio Valley Conference standings; however, it still has a long way until it gets there.

But they have a month. This is it. The season ends in February. The Panthers have eight games left – four home, four away – to try to climb up the standings, at least a little higher than fifth.

It is plausible, though, to think they can climb the mountain now. The fourth place team in the OVC, Austin Peay, has the same conference record as Eastern, 6-5. Eastern’s second to last game of the regular season is against Austin Peay.

In fact, Eastern has one game left against all of the teams in front of them in the standings except for Tennessee Tech, which completed the sweep of Eastern Thursday.

There is no reason why the reigning regular season OVC champs cannot climb up toward the top of the standings. This is not a middle-of-the-road team.

The Panthers have five talented players as their starting five. Each of the players has her best night. Many of them are consistently good.

Also, Eastern has three players on the bench that could easily be starting for this team and producing just as well as most of the starters – and they are all in their first year at Eastern. Jordyne Crunk, Hillary Held and Jessica Parker could all be good starters right now.

There is a lot to be excited about on this Eastern team. They are going to learn from this four-game losing streak, and it can only be good.

Since the four-game losing streak started, Sallee said the players have had their heads on straight, understanding what the team was trying to achieve. Repeatedly during the four-game losing streak, Sallee said the team was bound to get over the hump soon.

The 16-point win is a big stepping-stone. Sallee can use that game as an example of how to really dominate a team: to control the boards and to dominate in the paint.

Sydney Mitchell had 18 points Saturday and said the team is confident after winning the game.

The Panthers are out of the mud and starting to run again.

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