Coming into the 2013-14 season, you had no idea what to expect from the Eastern women’s basketball team.

It entered the season with a first-time head coach and almost a brand new starting lineup that featured just one returning starter.

We all wondered why Lee Buchanan left after one year as the head coach that saw the Panthers win the Ohio Valley Conference title.

Eastern Athletic Director Barbara Burke could not have made a better selection to replace Buchanan. On May 14, she hired former WNBA All-Star and Defensive Player of the year award winner Debbie Black.

Black had been an assistant coach under Jim Foster at Ohio State for the previous seven years.

She met with her players before the season started, trying to find the identity of this year’s Panthers.

It is yet to be determined whether or not she has found that identity, but I might have a pretty good clue of what it is.

The Panthers are 9-12 and by looking at their record, you could say they are not that good. Well, you would be wrong.

Eastern is better than what it’s record reflects.

About half of those 12 losses could easily been wins, as Eastern has either had a lead at halftime or has been down by only a couple of points and then went on to lose.

In the seventh game of the season the Panthers were up 32-29 to a 0-6 University of Missouri Kansas City team in the UMKC Tournament. The Panthers were out scored 40-30 in the second half and lost by seven.

In four other games, the Panthers faced similar results by either being ahead at halftime or trailing by a handful of points, but ultimately coming away with a loss.

In mid-December the Panthers started to turn things around when they headed down to the North Florida Holiday Tournament.

Eastern defeated Georgia Southern 57-50 and then beat Air Force by 32, and shot 50 percent from the floor in that game.

But the Panthers are no in a bit of a funk, losing five of its last seven games, but they have one goal in mind, which is to be on a bus headed to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, which starts on March 5.

The good thing for the Panthers is that there are only two teams in the OVC with winning records. The last six games conference games will show if Eastern really is better than its record.

Bob Reynolds can be reached at 581-2812 or rjreynolds@eiu.edu.