Eastern women’s basketball is back and is getting ready for another season in the Ohio Valley Conference.
After making back-to-back appearances in the semifinals of the OVC tournament, Eastern is looking for more.
First year head coach Marqus McGlothan said that the team will not settle for anything less than an OVC championship.
“My goal one, just from a basketball standpoint, is just to win,” McGlothan said. “I feel like we’re good enough as long as we stay healthy, and so for us, anything less than the championship is us not having a successful season.”
McGlothan explained that he doesn’t just want success on the court. He also wants success academically and socially for his athletes. He said he wants the team to be top 25 in GPA and that the graduates take something away from their time at Eastern.
McGlothan is new as a head coach but has been at Eastern for the last two seasons as an assistant coach.
Eastern has multiple players coming back with some new faces as well.
Returning for her final year at Eastern is senior forward Macy McGlone.
McGlone was named the OVC player of the year, OVC defender of the year and first team All-OVC last year.
McGlone averaged 17.8 points and 11.9 rebounds a game. She averaged a double-double and finished with 26 double-doubles, which was second in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Another returner is sophomore guard Lalani Ellis. During her freshman year she was injured for five weeks however she still averaged 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds a game.
Coming back this season, Ellis says that she is blessed to be surrounded by her teammates, and said it feels amazing to be back after her injury last season.
One of the newcomers is transfer Kiyley Flowers from Southeast Missouri State University. The last two seasons, she led the OVC in steals per game averaging 2.6 in 2023-2024 and 3.1 in 2022-2023.
Flowers was the third leading scorer with 10 points in Eastern’s exhibition game against Illinois Wesleyan on Monday.
Another newcomer is senior guard Alex Rouse from Bradley University. Last season, she averaged 9.1 points a game. She was a starter during the exhibition game against Illinois Wesleyan University.
McGlone said that the team has a lot of talent, and that a championship is in reach more than it ever has been. She said she is excited to just be back for the season.
“It feels like it was so long ago when the season ended,” McGlone said. “I remember when it ended. I was like, ‘wow, we have eight months until we play again.’ But, yeah, it feels good. I’m excited.”
In the preseason, Eastern was picked to finish third in the conference by the OVC. Placed above them was University of Southern Indiana and UT Martin.
Last year, Eastern finished fourth in the OVC and ended up losing to Southern Indiana in the semifinals of the OVC Tournament.
Eastern starts conference play on Dec. 19 against SEMO. They also finish the season against SEMO on March 1.
Eastern starts regular season play against North Dakota on Friday at North Dakota at 7 p.m.
Patrick Schmitz can be reached at 581-2812 or at pfschmitz@eiu.edu.
