Groniger Arena was unusually loud for the women’s basketball game on Thursday. The reason? It was Greek Night.
Junior Grace Bonds of the sorority Alpha Gamma Delta said, “I got the email about it, and I thought it was great. I told my sisters and said, ‘Let’s do it, let’s support Eastern, let’s support Greek life.’”
The Greeks filled the stands for Eastern women’s basketball against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles; a game that quite literally went down to the buzzer.
The game had 30 seconds left on the clock. Junior guard Miah Monahan dribbled to the corner and drained a three, tying the game 71-71.
Tennessee Tech got the ball with 27.1 seconds remaining in the game. The ball was passed around until graduate guard Maaliya Owens dove into the paint for the potential game-winning layup. The layup was not to be as Owens traveled with 2.9 seconds left in the game giving Eastern the ball.
With the ball in Eastern’s possession, Monahan threw a quick pass to sophomore guard Ellie Buzzelle, who was by midcourt. Buzzelle then heaved a pass to junior forward Macy McGlone in the paint. McGlone got the ball with less than one second remaining, charged up the court, and dropped the layup as the buzzer was sounding, giving Eastern the win 73-71.
The Greeks in the stands erupted, the bench stormed the court and Eastern moved to third in the Ohio Valley Conference with a record of 8-12, 5-2 in the OVC.
The game was dictated by Monahan who had 20 points in 37 minutes going 8-16 from the field.
“We have so many key players on the team, so anyone can step up,” Monahan said. “I saw them sucking in on Macy [McGlone] and thought ‘Might as well take a few shots’”
Despite Monahan’s efforts, Eastern was down 12-4 five minutes into the first quarter. The Panthers mounted a 10-point comeback, closing out the quarter at 14-14.
The second quarter has a similar theme to the fourth. Tennessee Tech came out hot, putting the score at 27-18. The Golden Eagles maintained at least a six-point lead until the final minute and a half where Eastern put up nine points to Tennessee Tech’s three. The score going into half was 36-34 in the Golden Eagles’ favor.
McGlone noticed how the fans in attendance helped them back into the game.
“I think [the fans] really helped with our energy,” McGlone said. “All of us on the court, we were super hyped.”
The Panthers surged in the third, scoring 16 by the five-minute mark, which put the lead at 50-43. The Golden Eagles kept pace with the Panthers, bringing themselves within one point with two minutes left. The two teams traded shots, finishing the third quarter tied up 56-56.
Head coach Matt Bollant said he gave some words of wisdom to the team before going into the fourth.
“Just be us, embrace the fight,” Bollant said. “It’s good that they’re playing well. We just have to embrace the fight, go play well and be us in the fourth quarter.”
The fourth was competitive, with the biggest lead of the quarter being three points. This back-and-forth action continued until the three-pointer by Monahan, which was her 20th point, tied the game. This led to the McGlone layup giving the Panthers the win.
Eastern will play again on Jan. 27 at 1 p.m. against Tennessee State. The game will be held in Groniger Arena.
Aidan Cusack can be reached at 581-2812 or at densportsdesk@gmail.com.
