The Eastern women’s basketball team’s offense struggled once again in a road loss to first-place Belmont Thursday.

The Panthers shot just 28 percent from the field and turned the ball over 21 times in the game, which ended in a 77-46 loss to the Bruins. It marks the Panthers’ third-straight loss.

They have averaged just 49 points per game over their three-game losing streak, coming directly after a five-game winning streak in which they averaged 78 points per game, and are now 13-13 overall and 8-7 in conference play.

The Panthers got out to a 12-6 lead in the first quarter, but Belmont claimed a 15-14 lead by the end of the quarter. They reclaimed the lead for a portion of the second quarter, and led for a little over 11 minutes of the game, but were outscored 19-10 in the second quarter, 23-7 in the third and 20-15 in the fourth.

Junior guard Lariah Washington tied for the team lead with 11 points and led the team with eight rebounds. Freshman forward Taris Thornton also scored 11 points in 12 minutes off the bench. Thornton shot 4-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from three-point range.

Belmont was led by guard Destinee Wells with a game-high 22 points and five assists. The Bruins only had five turnovers in the game.

Eastern outrebounded the Bruins 48-33 and had a 19-9 advantage in offensive rebounds. Despite this, the Bruins had 17 second-chance points while Eastern had 15.

The Panthers will remain in Nashville for a Saturday contest against Tennessee State. That game will tip off at noon.

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