The Eastern women’s basketball team competed in the Compass Tournament over the weekend, losing to Southern Illinois Friday and then beating Northern Illinois Saturday to finish third. 

The Panthers are now 5-4 on the season with three games left before conference season begins. 

Eastern came out strong Friday against Southern Illinois, outscoring the Salukis in the first quarter.

The score was tied at halftime, but the Salukis pulled ahead with 20 points in the third quarter, outscoring the Panthers by eight points in the second half to win 74-66. 

Forward Abby Brockmeyer was absolutely dominant for Southern Illinois, scoring a career-high 34 points to go along with 16 rebounds. She shot 12-of-18 from the floor in the game and 10-of-14 from the free-throw line. 

Eastern’s leading scorer was junior guard Lariah Washington with 18 points, scoring in double figures for the seventh time in the Panthers’ forst eight games. 

Senior forward Abby Wahl added 17 points and freshman guard Julia Bengston scored 10 points. 

The Eastern offense shot well, shooting 44.8 percent from the floor and 46.7 percent from three-point range. 

The Salukis shot a little bit better overall, shooting 48.3 percent from the field, but only went 2-of-14 from the field. 

They went on to lose to host Western Illinois Saturday while Eastern faced off with Northern Illinois in the third-place game. 

The Panthers came out firing in the first quarter, scoring 25 points and shooting over 60 percent in the opening period. 

They put up 21 more points in the second quarter and led the Huskies 46-32 at halftime. 

Both teams shot 6-of-16 in the third quarter and combined for just 30 points, with the Huskies outscoring Eastern 17-13 in the quarter. 

Both offenses came back alive for the fourth quarter.

They combined for 50 points, 32 for Northern Illinois and 28 for Eastern, as the Panthers held on to win 87-81. 

Eastern shot 7-of-10 from the field and 12-of-12 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to ice the win. 

The Panthers were 15-of-15 from the line in the game, while the Huskies were 14-of-15. 

Eastern faced a strong individual performance for the second-straight game as Northern Illinois guard Chelby Koker scored 29 points to go with 11 assists. 

Four Eastern players scored in double figures, led by senior guard Kira Arthofer with a career-high 20 points and a season-high eight assists. 

Wahl added 19 points and Washington 14. Wahl made 10 of the Panthers’ 15 free throws in the game while Washington had a team-high seven rebounds. 

Bengston scored 12 points, scoring in double figures for the fifth time in her last six games.

Eastern’s next game is on the road against Loyola Wednesday at 7 p.m. 

Adam Tumino can be reached at 581-2812 or ajtumino@eiu.edu.