King Ties Career High But EIU Falls in Women's Basketball

CHARLESTON – Bradley’s Jenny Smith knocked down two free throws with two second on the clock to seal a 66-65 victory for the Braves, avenging a one-point home loss to the Panther women’s basketball team last season. EIU drops to 0-2 on the year.

Mariah King put the Panthers up 65-64 with 10 seconds remaining in regulation before Bradley’s final possession. Following a timeout, Jenny Smith was fouled by Kelsey Wyss on her shot attempt to send her to the charity stripe where she would drain the game-winning free throws. Bradley improved to 1-1 on the year.

The opening half saw the Panthers trail 24-21 at the 7:10 mark before going an 11-2 run to take their first lead of the contest, 32-26. Bradley held the Panthers without a point for the rest of the stanza, closing the half on an 11-0 run to take a 37-32 lead into the locker room.

The second half was back-and-forth as the stanza had four lead changes and two ties. On the night, there were six lead changes and three ties.

King paced the Panthers with 30 points, tying her previous career high. She also added four rebounds and three steals. The Chicago native eclipsed the 1,000 point career mark on the evening, pushing her career total to 1,021 points.

Ta’Kenya Nixon was the only other Panther in double figures as the senior guard scored 11 points. She also chipped in four assists and five steals. Katlyn Payne added nine points while Jordyne Crunk and Taryn Olson scored six points each.

EIU was outrebounded by seven (40-33) on the night with Sabina Oroszova leading EIU with nine rebounds. Catie O’Leary grabbed nine rebounds to pace the Braves on the glass.

Kelsey Budd led three Braves players who scored in double figures with 17 points. Brooke Bisping and O’Leary both scored 10 points.

The Panthers hit 36.4 percent of their shot attempts on the night, going 24-for-66 from the field. Bradley connected on 47.2 percent of its field goal attempts, going 25-for-53 from the floor.

The Panthers return to action on Monday, Nov. 19 against San Jose State at noon. The game will serve as the team’s annual Kid’s Day game.