EIU Wins Second Overtime Women's Basketball Game

Allison Van Dyke scored six of her 23 points in overtime on Wednesday night as Eastern Illinois won its second overtime game this season beating UT Martin, 80-70, in Lantz Arena.
 
EIU outscored UTM 12-2 in the overtime session to improve to 6-13 overall, 2-5 in the OVC.  UTM fell to 4-15 overall, 1-5 in the OVC.
 
UT Martin led by three points with 2:42 remaining in regulation after a pair of free throws by Ashton Feldhaus.   The Panthers cut into the lead on a free throw by Halle Stull and tied the game at 68-68 with 1:01 remaining on a jumper by Carmen Tellez from the top of the key.
 
In the overtime session EIU raced out to a five point lead on a jumper by Erica Brown and a three point play by Van Dyke.  Following a lay-up by Feldhaus, Van Dyke capped her big night with her fifth 3-pointer pushing EIU’s lead to 76-70 with 2:26 left to play.  Brown followed with a lay-up as the senior posted a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds.
 
EIU opened the game shooting 55 percent in the opening period as they led 25-14 after the first ten minutes.  The Panthers would lead 39-31 at the half despite 23 points from Skyhawks guard Kendall Spray.  Spray was 7-of-10 from 3-point range in the first half but limited to only three 3-point shots in the second half.  Spray finished with a game high 33 points as her eight 3-pointers were two shy of tying the OVC single game record.
 
UT Martin forced seven EIU turnovers in the third period outscoring the Panthers 25-12.  Feldhaus and Emanye Robertson combined for 16 points in the period as the Skyhawks took the lead on a Feldhaus jumper with 4:05 left to play in the third.  Spray’s only 3-pointer of the second half put the Skyhawks up 56-47 with 1:14 left in the period.   Feldhaus finished with 19 points.  Robertson had nine points, eight of them coming in the third quarter.
 
Grace Lennox closed the third period with back-to-back jumpers to cut the UTM lead to five points heading into the fourth quarter.  Those four points sparked an 11-0 EIU run spanning the two quarters as Jennifer Nehls, Stull and Van Dyke all scored to open the fourth quarter.  Van Dyke’s 3-pointer with 7:23 to play was the final bucket in the EIU run.
 
The two teams then traded the lead over the final six minutes of regulation.  EIU dominated play on the glass finishing with a 53-37 rebound margin including a 16-5 rebound advantage in the fourth period.  Those 53 rebounds led to 26 second chance points for the Panthers.  Lennox and Stull both finished with nine rebounds.  Lennox rounded out the EIU double figure scorers with 19 points.