On paper the Eastern women’s basketball team (5-3 OVC) looks like it should be headed into a weekend where it can pick up wins against two opponents in Murray State and Austin Peay, who both have 2-6 conference records.

That’s on paper at least.

The reality behind the paper tells a different story.

Eastern head coach Matt Bollant said he has been telling his team all week ahead of their Thursday game against Murray State and Saturday game against Austin Peay, that both teams are better than their 2-6 records indicate.

Bollant said Murray State’s record is particularly deceiving because five of the Racers’ six losses this season have come against the top-four teams in the OVC. Murray State lost to Tennessee-Martin (7-1) twice and Southeast Missouri (6-2), Tennessee Tech (8-0), and Belmont (7-1) each once.

Austin Peay falls under a similar umbrella. The Governors have lost to Tennessee-Martin twice, Southeast Missouri twice and then dropped games against Belmont and Tennessee Tech.

Both teams have had arguably the hardest schedule in the conference so far.

“Obviously its two games we think if we play well we can get, but I am also trying to prepare our teams that, ‘Hey, these two teams are way better than their records,’” Bollant said. “Austin Peay lost a one-point game to Belmont at the buzzer and certainly we have to be ready to go.”

Eastern is headed back on the road following a four-game homestand, which the Panthers finished 2-2, beating Tennessee-Martin and Jacksonville State, while losing games to Southeast Missouri and Tennessee Tech.

Bollant was disappointed after his team’s most recent loss to Southeast Missouri 77-65, saying after the game his team did not play with a lot of energy. But he said the loss is something his team has been trying to grow from in practice this week.

Bollant said he has reiterated that what makes Eastern so special is “how hard we play.”

“Certainly we have to figure that out because we have been better on Thursdays than we have on Saturdays, and I don’t know if it is just the fatigue or the physical play, but I just said, ‘Hey we have to show up and you have to play hard if we want to be good,’” Bollant said.

Murray State brings in the conference’s fifth-highest scoring offense, led by the OVC’s third-leading scorer Macey Turley (17.8 ppg). The Racers also boast a 6-3 record at home compared to just 3-7 on the road.

Bollant said the key to beating Murray State will be limiting Turley, which he described as “cutting off the head” of the offensive unit.

“We have to make everything as hard as possible (for Turley),” Bollant said. “We have to get her picked up as early as possible and not let her get it deep and into the lane. When she drives and they don’t get early help and they foul her she shot 109 free throws on the year.”

Eastern is 3-1 on the road in conference play this season; after years of struggling on the road, it appears Eastern may have finally figured it out. But the Panthers will need to prove that this weekend.

“We said, ‘Hey, we have been one of the best road teams in our league, and let’s take that identity,’” Bollant said. “There’s not many teams who have been able to do what we have done on the road and in the non-conference too, so let’s go play great on the road again.”

Eastern plays Murray State Thursday at 5 p.m. and Austin Peay at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

JJ Bullock can be reached at 581-2812 or jpbullock@eiu.edu.