The Eastern women’s basketball team suffered a 66-49 defeat in its last meeting against Southeast Missouri on Jan. 25.

On Saturday, the Panthers will have a chance to avenge the loss against the Redhawks at Lantz Arena.

Eastern had gotten out to an early lead against the Redhawks, but failed to hold on. The Panthers shot 28 percent from the field and were outscored 42-27 in the second half.

Eastern forward Sabina Oroszova, who is averaging 18.1 points per game, said playing Southeast Missouri already and knowing what the Redhawks bring to the table helps in Eastern’s preparation.

“We know what to expect from them and know how to prepare for this game,” she said. “We made a lot of mistakes in the first game against them so hopefully we have learned from it and we can reduce those mistakes.”

The Panthers had 14 turnovers against the Redhawks Cape Girardeau, Mo.

The Panthers are 4-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference and tied for the eighth and final playoff spot. The Redhawks sit just a half of a game behind Eastern, and Panther freshman Erica Brown said how important this game is to win.

“It’s very important, especially considering the fact that we lost to them on their court,” Brown said. “Hopefully, we can come out with this win to get a little more of a cushion.”

The Panthers shot an average of 77.5 percent from the field in its last two games.

Eastern guard Katlyn Payne said the Panthers would have to stay positive and confident in order to keep up their hot shooting.

Oroszova added that the Panthers want to start the game with the same energy they had last week.

“It was incredible we put a big lead on (Edwardsville) in the beginning,” Oroszova said. “We played together as a team the whole game.”

In their last game, Austin Peay defeated the Redhawks 87-74.

The Redhawks are 7-5 overall and 3-6 in the OVC and do not have one player on the team averaging more than 10 points per game.

The Redhawks, who are currently on a two-game losing streak, are going on a two-game road trip, starting with Saturday’s game and then will head to Edwardsville.

The game is scheduled to start at 4:15 p.m. Saturday in Lantz Arena.

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