Kelsey Wyss was walking around Lantz Arena in socks after Thursday’s overtime win over Tennessee-Martin, but her sheer excitement overcame any strain in her tired feet.

Wyss’ block on Jaclissa Haislip at the end of regulation stuffed any chance of déja vu in favor of the Skyhawks, after they had won the two teams previous meeting on a game-winning shot with two seconds left.

“You can’t stand here and say anything, but that was mad luck,” Wyss said.

After blocking the shot, the Panthers and Skyhawks went into overtime, where Wyss wasn’t done making plays.

The score tied 76-76, the Skyhawks began overtime by draining one of 17 three-pointers they made in the game. On the other end, Wyss sank a game-tying three-pointer of her own.

From there, the game was back and forth until sophomore forward Mariah King gave Eastern the lead in the game with a short-range jumper.

The Panthers kept the lead for the final 1:30 in the overtime period, as they would win by three, 88-85 with King and sophomore forward Sydney Mitchell connecting on free throws late in the game.

Mitchell drove into the paint with six seconds left and drew a foul. She hit 1-of-2 free throws to give Eastern a one-point lead.

“Sydney made the right play,” head coach Brady Sallee said. “She saw they didn’t collapse on her so she drove it to the basket.”

The free throw Mitchell missed was the second of two so the clock started once Skyhawks’ forward Perica Glenn grabbed the rebound.

With Lantz Arena rocking and sophomore guard Ta’Kenya Nixon pressing Skyhawks guard Jasmine Newsome, Glenn passed the ball to Newsome. The ball bounced off of the leg of Newsome and out of bounds.

The coaches, players and fans exploded inside Lantz Arena with the Panthers getting the ball back with two seconds left.

“That’s why Lantz Arena is a special place,” Sallee said.

The Skyhawks fouled King with one second left, and King went to line and converted on both free throws.

None other than Wyss deflected the Skyhawks’ ensuing inbound pass away, as the clock expired unleashing a celebration.

“This is what we play for,” Wyss said.

The Panthers and fans celebrated. King was overcome with excitement.

“I was excited to play this team,” King said. “It was a big game.”

King and Wyss finished the game with 22 and 21 points, respectively; however, they thought it was team effort that won the game.

King said the Panthers had to play as a team in order to have a chance to win. Eight Panthers played in the game, all of which scored at least four points.

Sallee said his team showed a refusal to lose the game, to keep its six-game winning streak alive; however, he said the Skyhawks did not make it easy.

“Good gravy,” Sallee said. “That team hit 17 threes. We absorbed 17 threes and still won.”

One of the biggest areas where the team stepped up was in its reaction to Nixon getting into foul trouble and only playing 21 minutes in the game, Sallee said.

King said the team knew it had to step up without Nixon and Wyss said it did a good job.

“I don’t think it got into any of our heads that she wasn’t in,” Wyss said.

While the Panthers stayed focused on winning the game, Sallee said each player was most motivated by her own determination.

“Where a lot of the effort came from was between the ears,” Sallee said. “These kids put it out on the line for each other tonight.”

Wyss, King and Sallee agreed the atmosphere inside Lantz Arena was that of a championship game, resulting in mixed emotions for the coach and players.

“For me it was like a heart attack,” Sallee said. “For them it’s college basketball. That’s what they sign up for.”

After the game, Sallee said he had a lot of people coming up to him giving him congratulations and praising the work he did in the game.

But Sallee said he did not deserve the credit.

“I didn’t have a lot to do with this one,” Sallee said. “(The players) did it all.”

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

The Daily Eastern News)

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Brady Sallee, the women’s basketball coach, yells out a play during the game against Tennessee Martin Thursday evening in Lantz Arena. (Audrey Sawyer/The Daily Eastern News)

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