2024.02.21

Eating disorders in athletics

“An alarming 84% of college athletes have experienced patterns and symptoms of

Tennis coach has varied past

By Aidan Cusack Sports Reporter | @DEN_News

Spring had given way to summertime in the Belgian town of Dilbeek.

It was the late 1990s, and a 6-year-old boy by the name of Robin Cambier had just finished preschool and joined a tennis camp for the summer.

Cambier had never played tennis before, but he must have taken a liking to it because 25 years later he would be named the director of tennis at Eastern Illinois University.

Cambier had joined the tennis camp at 6 and stayed with it his whole life. He was coached under a man named Alexander Katsnelson for the first 10 years of his career.

“[Katsnelson] was a Belarussian coach that came to Belgium,” Cambier said.

(See CAMBIER PG 7)

Enrollment remains steady

By Audra Gullquist Assistant News Editor | @DEN_News

Eastern’s 10th day enrollment report stated that spring 2024 enrollment is steady at 8,688 students, a 0.7% decrease from spring 2023.

On-campus students also decreased by 1.13% to 4,482, compared to spring 2023’s headcount of 4,533 students.

Total undergraduate enrollment on and off campus has also decreased by 2.5%, while total graduate enrollment has decreased by 2.86%.

However, Eastern has seen a 4% increase in international students and a 2.1% average combined increase in both first year and transfer students.

Eastern also reported that the senior class of 2024 has slightly increased, making this year’s senior class the first to see an increase since 2019.

(See ENROLLMENT PG 3)

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Tennessee

BY SIA DEYKOONTZ | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Fifth-year forward Jermaine Hamlin slams during the second half of the basketball game against Southeast Missouri State in Groniger Arena last Thursday.

CAMPUS

MEET

Debate over new grading system

By Veronica Gipson Student Government Reporter | @DEN_News

(fax)

News Staff

Editor-in-Chief

Rob Le Cates DENeic@gmail. com

News Editor

Cam’ron Hardy dennewsdesk@ gmail.com

Assistant News

Editor

Audra Gullquist dennewsdesk@ gmail.com

Photo Editor Sia DeyKoontz denphotosdesk@ gmail.com

Design Editor Harper Hancock hahancock2@eiu. edu

Sports Editor Zaria Flippin densportsdesk@ gmail.com

Assistant Sports Editor Luther Yoder densportsdesk@ gmail.com

Opinions Editor Ellen Dooley denop.eds@gmail. com

Copy Chief Alli Hausman athausman@eiu.edu

Faculty Advisers

Editorial Adviser

Tim Drachlis

Photo Adviser Greg Cooper

About

Publisher Joe Gisondi

Business Manager Betsy Jewell

The Daily Eastern News is produced by the students of Eastern Illinois University. It is published weekly on Wednesday, in Virden, Ill., during fall and spring semesters and online during the summer term except during university vacations or examinations. One copy per week is free to students and faculty. Additional copies can be obtained for 50 cents each in the Student Publications Office in Buzzard Hall.

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The Daily Eastern News is committed to accuracy in its coverage of the news. Any factual error the staff finds or is made aware of by its readers will be corrected as promptly as possible. Please report any factual error you find to Editor-in-Chief Rob Le Cates at 581-2812.

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Eastern News 1802 Buzzard Hall Eastern Illinois University

The faculty senate is considering implementing a new grading system, said the student government vice president of academic affairs, Carlos Rodriguez.

According to Rodriguez, a sophomore psychology major, EIU has been yielding high failure rates and withdrawal rates in underclassmen due to students coming from academic backgrounds that did not challenge them. The faculty senate is considering altering the grading system, wherein high-risk general education classes would have a pass/fail system and all other classes would have the a plus/minus system.

The student senate generally disliked the idea of a plus/minus system but endorsed the implementation of the pass/fail system in general education classes.

Brianna Hull-Dennis, student government vice president of student affairs, asked what the faculty is doing to take accountability for failure rates.

Rodriguez said that the faculty senate has plans to address professors and courses with low pass rates and evaluate their curriculum and syllabi.

Academic Affairs has partnered with professional photographers on Flickr for an event so that students can take professional headshots free of charge, said Rodriguez.

The student senate’s graduate advisors announced that each committee will have to make a proposal for next year’s budget.

Student government committees will be having meetings with their graduate advisors in these upcoming weeks and Laurel Hutchinson, the account manager for student life affiliated groups.

While student government is undergo-

After considering the failure and withdrawal rates at

grading system in its meeting on Feb. 14.

ing this process itself, it will be approving university board, the apportionment board and all other RSOs that receive funding from the student activity fees’ budgets before they are sent to Anne Flaherty for final approval.

The Business Affairs Committee has a financial literacy week coming up in the final week of February with events such as a FAFSA workshop and student fee tabling. Students will have the opportunity to understand the breakdown of their tuition bill and the services provided to them through the university.

Also on the agenda for the general body meeting was the approval of the renewal of the leadership and excellence club.

This club is open to ROTC students and serves to foster an understanding of and interest in ROTC by developing leadership

skills and techniques. Further, it hopes to build relationships between student cadets and the greater EIU student body.

In a unanimous vote, the student senate approved the renewal of the club.

The Miss Black EIU pageant will be held in the Grand Ballroom on Feb. 24 from 7-9 p.m. There are three contestants, and the dress code is formal.

The senior political science major and executive vice president of student government, August Biernbaum, shared the student action team will have a lobbying day in Springfield on March 6. The team had their Wednesday meeting to discuss and decide its proposed legislation after the student senate adjourned at 8 p.m.

Veronica Gipson can be reached at vmgipson@eiu.edu or 581-2812.

FRONT PAGE COVER BY ROB LE CATES

BY ROB LE CATES | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Eastern, student senate debates the formation of a new

By Kimberly Carroll Reporter | kacarroll@eiu.edu

Profanity is a tool used to either be expressive in a statement or to emphasis a point.

Some think twice before using it, while others find it pleasant to use that language.

Matthew Inverso, a psychology professor, said that swearing is often used as an outlet for stress.

“Sometimes you need the emphasis to say this was more than just ‘they made a mistake,’ but this is ‘they f----- everything up,’” Inverso said.

The appropriate use of profanity depends on the situation.

Profanity has the potential to improve

ENROLLMENT CONTINUED FROM PG 1 >>

Eastern largely credits Plan 2028 for their steady enrollment numbers.

“We’re on a sustained path to enduring success thanks to Plan 2028 and to the dedication and hard work of every EIU student, employee and community member who supports our commitment to student learning and to our EIU mission,” said Eastern’s President Jay Gatrell.

The university hopes to raise their future enrollment and is confident that Plan 2028 will help meet students’ needs and ensure increasing enrollment rates.

The report stated, “University leaders are pleased with the stability of EIU’s enrollment and remain confident EIU is on a purposeful path forward, guided largely by Plan 2028-- the University’s strategic, multi-year blueprint for growth and student success.”

One of the 14 initiatives within Plan 2028 is the board of trustees’ approval of three new programs: a Master of Arts in teaching, a customizable bachelor’s degree in applied arts and sciences and a second B.A.A.S in emergency management.

These new programs will first be offered beginning fall 2024.

What makes a curse word a curse word?

someone’s mood or speed up the communication of ideas.

Krystal Aquino, a freshman biological science major, believes that using profanity could help improve communication.

“You can try to be elegant but it’s like no. Sometimes you’re just tired and want to get it over with and that can be pretty powerful in itself,” Aquino said.

Paola Cuatepitzi-Rojas, a senior early childhood education major at Eastern, believes swear words tend to be inappropriate.

“You don’t want to end up cursing around your boss, and then at the same time when kids are around because honestly, it’s best the kids get eased into it and learn how to properly use them

These programs are designed to enable students to work in their field while pursuing higher education, Provost Ryan Hendrickson said at the board of trustees meeting earlier this semester. He estimated around 50 students for all three programs combined. These new programs are aimed to bring more students to Eastern.

Accompanying the new degrees, a master’s degree to earn an accelerated registered dietitian credential will be complemented by a faculty initiative in the Department of Public Health and Nutrition.

Although Plan 2028 was just recently adopted in summer 2023 by the trustees, Eastern’s leaders are confident their initiatives will continue to benefit the university.

“EIU is aimed at purposeful, incremental enrollment increases consistently and over time.

Our five-year progress is evident, but we are committed to doing even more,” Eastern’s Associate Vice President for enrollment management Josh Norman said. “Enhancing enrollment will remain a top priority for EIU moving forward,”

Audra Gullquist can be reached at agullquist@eiu.edu or 581-2812.

instead of just using them,” Cuatepitzi-Rojas said.

Inverso offered an opposing perspective.

“I actually think it’s kind of funny,” Inverso said. “Adults try not to swear in front of children because they don’t want kids to hear those type of words. Children try not to swear in front of adults because they don’t want the adults to know they’re using these words. But I feel like if we all just kind of acknowledged we’re all swearing, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal.”

Cuatepitzi-Rojas expressed a strong belief that, when used appropriately, swearing might give the impression of intelligence.

“It’s a sign of intelligence to the point

with understanding how to use them (profanities) and when to use them and the appropriate way to use them,” she said.

Cuatepitzi-Rojas’ ideas were elaborated further by Aquino in agreement.

“I feel like it (swearing) helps validate your own emotions,” Aquino said. “It just helps you breathe.”

Some may find some terms that are labeled as swear words offensive, while others may view them as common language.

“There is really nothing that makes them a curse word,” Inverso said. “They’re just words.”

Kimberly Carroll can be reached at 581-2812 or at kacarroll2@eiu.edu.

The News wins 34 awards at state conference

The Daily Eastern News staff won 34 awards at the Illinois Collegiate Press Association this past weekend in Chicago.

The staff beat its previous record of 28 awards set at last year’s ICPA in both first and second placings.

The contest is divided up by school size and were judged by a panel of around 40 former and current journalists. The News competed in the medium-sized category for schools with 3,000-6,999 full-time enrolled students against five other schools with a total of 151 submissions.

The News won nine first places, 11 second places, six third places and eight honorable mentions.

Editorial adviser Tim Drachlis said his students’ passion is admirable.

“These awards are indicators of all the hard work that the students put in every day,” said Drachlis.

Overall

The staff won second place in print general excellence and third for website excellence. The staff was also the second highest earning school in the medium-sized category.

News

Former Editor-in-Chief Luke Taylor won first place for his feature story

about the gamer’s guild. The staff also received first for the story’s headline.

Taylor and Editor-in-Chief Rob Le Cates also won first place for their multimedia story on the “Xanadu” performance last spring.

The staff won first place for diversity, equity and inclusion reporting for its women’s history month edition last spring.

Former Editor-in-Chief Madelyn Kidd, News Editor Cam’ron Hardy and former Junior Features Editor Adriana Hernandez-Santana also won third place for their in-depth reporting for the sexual assault edition.

Kidd and Hardy received an honorable mention for the UPI strike announcement story.

Sports

Columnist Nick Bays won second place for a column about international sports written over the summer.

Former Sports Editor Autumn Schulz received an honorable mention for a sports news story about the history of sexual assault in Eastern athletics.

Former sports staff member Han Byer and former long-time Photo Editor Ashanti Thomas received an honorable mention for a feature story written

about the head volleyball coach Sara Thomas.

Photo

Ashanti Thomas won one first place for a general news photo for a Palestine vigil held last semester.

Thomas also took home three second places for a photo essay about a mariachi band visiting campus, a general news photo of UPI handing former University President David Glassman their strike notice and a beach volleyball sports action photo. In addition, she won an honorable mention for a feature photo of the mariachi band.

Le Cates won one second and two third place awards. His second place award was a feature photo from Unofficial last year, and his two third place awards were a spot news photo from Unofficial and a sports reaction photo of the volleyball team.

The staff won third place for a photo essay about the first few days of the UPI strike.

Opinions

The staff won first place in opinion pages for the third year running in its sexual assault-themed edition last spring and second from a page about the faculty strike last spring.

Taylor won first place for his Trans

Day of Visibility column and Dan Hahn won an honorable mention for a column written during the UPI strike.

The staff received an honorable mention for an editorial written about the UPI strike.

Podcasting

Sports reporters Aidan Cusack and Patrick Schmitz won first place for their sports podcast highlighting football player Stone Galloway.

Schulz and former Assistant Sports Editor Kate Stevens won second place for their sports podcast called Getting Emotional.

Hardy and columnist Drew Coffey won second and third for their movie analysis podcast Two Dudes Talk Movies.

Design

The staff won first place for their front page from March 22 about UPI reaching a 95% agreement on striking and second for a sports page about Cheeto the cat.

Kidd also received an honorable mention for a feature page about the gamer’s guild RSO.

The Editorial Board can be reached at 581-2812 or deneic@ gmail.com.

DELVONNA HAMPTON | SUBMITTED PHOTO

Editorial Board

Alli Hausman

Harper Hancock

Ellen Dooley

Audra Gullquist Cam’ron Hardy

Zaria Flippin Rob Le Cates Sia DeyKoontz

EIU basketball is looking at a four-day road trip that brings the potential to rise in conference standings, coming off a 72-57 win over the Lindenwood University Lions last Saturday.

Eastern will play Tennessee State University on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The last time Eastern played TSU, the Panthers lost to the Tigers 64-60 in Groniger Arena on Saturday, Jan 27.

While the Panthers are coming off two straight wins against Southeast Missouri State University and Lindenwood, the Tigers are coming off two straight losses against Tennessee Tech University and Western Illinois University.

This game will be crucial for both teams for placement in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

TSU is currently tied for fifth place with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, both being 15-12 overall and 8-6 conference.

Eastern is currently in seventh place in the OVC standings with a 13-14 overall record and a 7-7 conference record.

If Eastern beats TSU and TTU beats SIUE, Eastern would join the tie between TSU and SIUE for fifth place.

Here are a few facts and key statistics on the TSU Tigers:

Graduate guard Christian Brown averages 13.4 points a game for the Tigers, leading the team with average points per game. Although Brown scored only three points in TSU’s last game against Western Illinois, Brown scored 16 points in their previous game against TTU.

Senior guard Kinyon Hodges averages 5.4 rebounds per game for the Tigers, leading the team.

Hodges recorded eight rebounds against TTU and six rebounds against Western Illinois.

The Tigers average 12.8 turnovers a game, but they score an average of 15.3 points off turnovers.

After the Panthers play the Tigers on Thursday, the team is set to compete against the TTU Golden Eagles on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.

The last time the Panthers faced the Golden Eagles, the Panthers won 68-59 in Groniger Arena on Thursday, Jan 25.

Here are a few facts and key statistics on the TTU Golden Eagles:

1. Senior guard Jayvis Harvey averages 14.4 points per game for the Golden Eagles, leading the team with average points per game. Junior guard David Early is in a close second, as he averages 14.3 points per game for TTU.

2. Sophomore forward Daniel Egbuniwe averages 5.7 rebounds per game for the Golden Eagles, leading the team with average rebounds per game. Junior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. is in a close second, averaging 5.4 rebounds per game.

3. The Golden Eagles average 11.7

turnovers per game overall, but they average 11.0 turnovers throughout conference games.

As the Panthers prepare for their games in Tennessee, one aspect the Panthers improved on throughout their two games against SEMO and Lindenwood was the rebounding category.

The Panthers won the rebounding battle against the Redhawks 43-30 and the Lions 39-37.

Here’s few players to keep an eye on for the Panthers:

Corey Sawyer Jr.

The junior guard from Orlando, Florida, has been significantly improving his overall game and confidence throughout the season.

Sawyer Jr. currently averages 9.1 points per game and 2.4 rebounds per game. Over

the last two games, Sawyer Jr. recorded double digit points against SEMO and Lindenwood, scoring 15 points in each.

Jermaine Hamlin

The fifth year forward from Lincoln, Illinois, has recently come back from an injury, and he also provides more depth to the Panthers’ height, being 6 foot, 10 inches. Hamlin currently averages 5.1 points per game and 4 rebounds per game.

Over the last two games, Hamlin recorded eight points and five rebounds against the Redhawks, and he recorded five points and four rebounds against the Lions. Eastern is set to have two road games. The first one against TSU starts at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in Nashville.

Zaria Flippin can be reached at 5812812 or zhflippin@eiu.edu.

Running on empty

By Chloe Proffitt Sports Reporter

When it comes to athletics, how far would one go to achieve their goals?

As an athlete, one will do the unthinkable to achieve their standards.

For me and many other athletes, our mind creates a hypothesis known to fail in the long run: morph our body into the “ideal” size or shape.

But how does one define ideal?

Truth: there is no “perfect” body type. My body does a lot for me. I am a Division I cross country and track athlete. I run miles upon miles. I am fit, and I am strong. I am grateful for what all she

does for me, but I’m not happy with her.

I look in the mirror and tear myself to shreds. I see a picture, and I think my thighs are too big.

Why don’t I look like other runners? This mind game is relentless and all-consuming.

My whole life I have been an athlete under the spotlight of performance to the highest standard. Along with that, I have dealt with an eating disorder and many body image struggles along the way.

In high school, I fell deep into the trap, and I was convinced that being smaller would lead to faster times. In reality, I had no idea what the real destruction was doing to my body.

I was running on empty, physically and mentally drained, and my body began to fail itself.

I got weaker, and days would drag on and on till I was taken out of my sport for something I believed would be the fix

all to better times.

I was hospitalized. I was forced to take a step back and look at food and my body from a different angle.

The sad reality: I am not alone in this. Many other athletes have faced the same or similar struggles.

I hate the idea that there is one body type that fits all for any sport.

That is nothing but lies.

There are so many factors that lead us to this skewed way of thinking. According to statistics from Bridget Clerkin, an alarming 84% of college athletes have experienced patterns and symptoms of eating disorders.

One of the most common eating disorders in athletes is orthorexia. Orthorexia is an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy, and it is one of the most common eating disorders found within athletes.

What is even more alarming is how little an athlete’s body image is talked

about and the lack of awareness there is about body image.

Many just assume athletes are in the best shape of our lives, and we are competing at such a high level, so why would we be stressing over how we look?

Those people are wrong. So many athletes are at high risk for an eating disorder, especially with our competitive nature.

Dissatisfaction within the body can bring out the worst mentally which seeps into performance, and this is exactly why body image and eating disorders within athletes should be talked about more.

We need to create an open space for athletes to talk and know they are not alone in this debilitating mind battles.

Chloe Proffitt can be reached at 581-2812 or at densportsdesk@ gmail.com.

BY DREW COFFEY | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

The Panthers will need to beat the Tennessee State Tigers on Thursday in order to move out of seventh place and advance to a higher standing in the Ohio Valley Conference.

CAMBIER

Spring had given way to summertime in the Belgian town of Dilbeek.

It was the late 1990s, and a 6-yearold boy by the name of Robin Cambier had just finished preschool and joined a tennis camp for the summer.

Cambier had never played tennis before, but he must have taken a liking to it because 25 years later he would be named the director of tennis at Eastern Illinois University.

Cambier had joined the tennis camp at 6 and stayed with it his whole life. He was coached under a man named Alexander Katsnelson for the first 10 years of his career.

“[Katsnelson] was a Belarussian coach that came to Belgium,” Cambier said. “He has a really big track record of building up tennis players with good technique. So, my technical point was coached really well from a young age.”

Katsnelson had developed Cambier into a tennis protege. He was ranked the second-best under 16 player in Belgium by the International Tennis Association.

His success inadvertently gave the now 18-year-old Cambier a dilemma to unpack. He possessed the skill to play tennis at the highest level, yet he yearned to continue his education at university.

He set his sights on America.

“There’s really no other country in the world that has that system set up where you can do your studies at the highest level, get a university degree and play at the highest level,” Cambier said. “Usually, in most countries you have to choose.”

The process of reaching out to coaches a continent away was difficult, despite being one of the top players in his country.

Eventually, coach Nic Schyllander of the University of Oregon got in contact with Cambier.

He asked him to join his tennis team for the 2010 season, and Cambier accepted.

“The moment I landed in Eugene, [Oregon], it was amazing,” Cambier said. “The school is great, the facilities were amazing, my coaches were amazing, teammates were super supportive. It was a great environment to be in, especially being from another country.”

The road ahead seemed quite rocky for Cambier, as he had entered Oregon tennis when the team had been struggling.

BY AIDAN CUSACK

However, with assistance from teammates and coaches, the program turned around.

“When I first arrived at Oregon, we were not ranked. We played a D-III school to get a 0.500 record my freshman year,” Cambier said. “We changed the culture; my coaches did a great job of that. My teammates did a good job of getting on board with everything.”

Cambier finished his Oregon career as the program’s all-time winningest player with 90 singles wins and 93 doubles wins.

The record holder graduated with a sports business degree and got an internship with the Pacific-12 network. Yet, the job left him unfulfilled.

“I could not do the 9 [a.m.] to 5 [p.m.] job. I had way too much energy to sit at a desk,” Cambier said. “Doing emails and cold calls was not for me. I actually spent half my internship at the ping pong table.”

The monotonous nature of his internship caused him to switch his career path.

His coaching career began in Ojai, California, where he taught private tennis lessons.

Private tennis lessons still did not satisfy Cambier’s ambitions. He wanted to coach at the college level.

Fortunately for him, Washington State University had an opening at the assistant coaching position and inquired if he would interview. Cambier got the job in the spring of 2015.

He coached under coach Lisa Hart for three years.

Cambier was responsible for recruiting at Washington State, bringing in two-time pro title holder Michaela Bayerlová.

After Washington State, Cambier coached as an assistant on the Florida

Panthers of the Week

The female Panther of the Week is going to Taylor Iverson from the track and field team.

The senior from Chicago Heights set personal records for herself in the weight throw category and the shot put category during the Illinois State Redbird Tune-Up on Friday evening.

Iverson finished in first place in the weight throw category with a 17.21 meter distance.

Iverson’s distance in the weight throw category moves her to eighth in program history in the category.

Iverson also finished in second place in the shot put category with a 13 meter distance.

State University men’s team.

He got his masters in sports management while in Tallahassee, Florida.

After Florida State, Cambier moved to the College of William and Mary where he coached as an assistant from 2019 to 2021. Head coach Toni Bickford left the program, leading Cambier to become the interim head coach.

Cambier wanted the head coaching gig, but he didn’t get it.

Staying determined, he held out until a school finally offered him the chance to lead a program. The school was Eastern.

After 25 years of tennis and moving over 4,000 miles away from his hometown, Cambier now holds the reins of both Panther tennis teams.

Aidan Cusack can be reached at 581-2812 or at atcusack@eiu.edu.

The male Panther of the Week is Kyndall Davis from the basketball team.

The guard/forward from Chicago scored a season-high 26 points against Southeast Missouri State University on Thursday evening. Davis recorded his third double-double in the last four games for Eastern against the Lindenwood Lions on Saturday in Groniger Arena.

The Panthers beat the Lions 72-57 as Davis recorded 11 points and 10 rebounds. Davis also recorded three blocks, two assists and two steals.

TAYLOR IVERSON

KYNDALL DAVIS

| THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

Director of tennis Robin Cambier is in his first year as tennis director for Eastern.

Panthers face key test this week

By Luther Yoder Assistant Sports Editor | lyoder@eiu.edu

With four games left in the season, Eastern women’s basketball sits alone in second place in the Ohio Valley Conference with a record of 9-5 in conference play.

Eastern’s next two games are away games against Tennessee State University and Tennessee Tech University. Eastern has gone 2-0 against these teams this season, both of the games being at home.

Eastern’s first opponent, TSU, is 5-2 at home in conference play, and the last time the team played Eastern, TSU lost 71-67 in overtime. In that game, junior forward Macy McGlone had 30 points and a season-high 19 rebounds.

TSU’s leading scorer is senior guard Sanaa’ St. Andre who averages 15.3 points per game. When TSU last played Eastern, St. Andre had 18 points.

The team’s leading rebounder is junior forward Lyric Cole, averaging 7.5 rebounds a game. When she played against Eastern, she had nine.

Sophomore guard Zyion Shannon is someone to watch in this game. She has averaged 21 points in the last six games, including 26 in her last game and 32 against Lindenwood University. She also shot 49% from the field in those games.

TSU is also fighting for a spot in the OVC playoffs because they are tied with Southeast Missouri State University for eighth place in the conference. Only the top eight

BY ROB LE CATES | THE DAILY EASTERN NEWS

The Panthers will play Tennessee State University and Tennessee Tech University in its next two games of the

teams will make the OVC playoffs.

Eastern’s second opponent, Tennessee Tech, is one spot behind Eastern in the OVC standings.

The team has also won its last four games, its last two being at home.

Tennessee Tech has struggled at home, being 6-6 at home compared to 6-5 away, but has won its last two games at home.

Tennessee Tech also plays last-place Southern Illinois University Edwardsville at home before Eastern, which could add to its win streak.

The last time the Panthers played Tennessee Tech, they won 73-71 off a game-winning layup from McGlone.

Tennessee Tech’s leading scorer is graduate guard Maaliya Owens with an average

of 15.4 points per game. The last time she played Eastern, she scored 20 points.

Tennessee Tech’s leading rebounders are sophomore guard Reghan Grimes with 5.5 a game and senior guard Peyton Carter with 5.1 a game. When they last played Eastern, Grimes had seven rebounds and Carter had four.

Senior forward Anna Walker is someone to watch for this game. She has averaged 13.1 points per game, including 17 points against TSU and 14 points against Western Illinois University. During this stretch, she shot 50.6% from the field.

Eastern’s leader in points and rebounds is McGlone with 17.9 points and 11.9 rebounds a game. Junior Miah Monahan is second in scoring with 11.5 points per game.

Junior guard Taris Thorton is someone to watch out for in the upcoming games. She has scored double-digit points in the last four games with her season-high of 16 coming in the last game against Lindenwood.

The Panthers look to secure the second seed for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament with the last four home games of the season.

season.

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