The Eastern women’s basketball team will kick off NCAA Division I postseason play as it faces Eastern Kentucky in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament at noon Wednesday in Nashville, Tenn.

The Panthers will be playing as the No. 8 seed as they backed their way into the tournament by losing two games in a row, but got the help they needed from a Tennessee-Martin win over Austin Peay on Saturday.

This is the seventh straight season the Panthers have made it to the OVC tournament and they will be playing their first game in the first round since they changed the tournament to a new format three years ago.

This is unfamiliar territory for the Panthers over the past two seasons, where they have been the top-seed in the tournament, but lost in the first round both times.

With the Panthers being the No. 8 seed, junior forward Sabina Oroszova said this year is just simply going to be different.

“It may be beneficial for us not to have that pressure of being a leader,” she said. “I hope we will be the team upsetting other teams.”

The Panthers will be getting their first chance of an upset as they face the No. 5 seed in Eastern Kentucky Colonels.

The Panthers already have beaten the Colonels once this season 75-71 on Jan. 7. The Panthers were 31-of-37 from the line that day, with senior Jordyne Crunk setting a school record by making 16-of-17 free throws to finish with 18 points.

The Panthers made 21-of-25 from the free throw line in the second half to propel them to the win in Lantz Arena in just the third game in OVC play.

Junior guard Katlyn Payne led the Panthers with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor.

Oroszova, who averages 17 points per game, said she expects to see a different team in Eastern Kentucky in their second game.

“The EKU game was early in the season, so I’m sure both of the teams improved in something,” she said. “The last game that we played against them was a really good game for us. We were aggressive. We played together as a team and we fought for all 40 minutes. That’s what we need to do again and build on it.”

Eastern Kentucky comes into the game with a 15-12 record overall and 9-7 record in the OVC, but come enter the tourney on a three-game losing streak.

The Colonels average 69 points per game and have two players that average double figures.

Marie Carpenter is among the OVC leaders in scoring with 21.5 points per game, shooting shoots 40.8 from 3-point range.

Freshman guard Georgia Danos said she expects the Colonels to revenge the loss the Panthers handed them.

“Who wouldn’t want revenge,” she said. “That’s our job to make known that we are there to win and advance in the tournament. If we play how we’re coached, we’ll be just fine.”

The Panthers feature newcomers in this tournament, such as head coach Debbie Black, who is in her first season as a head coach coming over from Ohio State as an assistant coach. She led her Panthers to a 12-15 record overall and 7-9 record in conference.

Black does have postseason experience as a coach when she was with the Buckeyes and also as a player.

The Buckeyes went to the NCAA tournament seven times while she was there and also went to the Sweet 16 twice in that time span.

Lack of postseason coaching experience will not be a factor heading into this tournament for the first year head coach.

The players are a different story.

The Panthers are sporting five new players on the roster that have never experienced the OVC tournament before.

Senior guard Katlyn Payne said her and the fellow returning players have told the newcomers that are experiencing the tournament for the first time to be ready.

“Well, we play mostly veterans, so that helps,” Payne said. “We have already told them, it is a different place to play.”

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