Eastern women’s basketball team’s 64-46 victory against Tennessee Tech might not have been a historic battle between two great teams, and when people look back the 2002-03 women’s basketball season, it will not stand out above No. 1 Duke vs. No. 2 Connecticut, but for Eastern, it was huge.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Eastern head coach Linda Wunder said.

The Panthers (5-15, 4-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference) had lost to the Golden Eagles (7-12, 2-6) in 11 consecutive games until Monday, including first round OVC Tournament loses in 2000 and 2002. The last time Eastern beat Tennessee Tech was during the 1997-98 season, when Eastern won at home 63-54.

“I don’t think (Eastern’s young players) understand the pride and tradition of Tech’s program,” Wunder said. “They’ve been the premier team in the OVC for so long.”

Early in the game, it looked like Tech would continue to dominate the Panthers. The Golden Eagles scored nine of the first 15 points of the game and Eastern’s only points at the time came from a pair of three-pointers by junior guard Lauren Dailey.

However, the three-point lead would be Tech’s largest and last lead. Junior forward Katie Meyers drove the lane to beat the shot clock to cut the lead to one, and on Eastern’s next possession senior center Brooke Gossett gave the team the lead.

Sophomore guard Rachel Karos completed a 6-0 Eastern run before Tech freshman guard Arleigh Brackin buried a three to tie the game.

But after Brackin’s three, the Panthers controlled the game. Eastern outscored the Golden Eagles 20-12 in the following 11 and a half minutes.

One reason the Panthers were able to keep the Golden Eagles scoring down was by containing their inside players. Tech’s leading scorer, freshman center Emily Christian was held to 11 points.

“Tennessee Tech, their main scorers come from the post,” freshman guard Megan Sparks said. “Christian scores a majority of their points, and we knew if we shut her down, we knew we could shut down their perimeter.”

Dailey made 5-of-6 from the field to lead all scorers at the half with 13 points. Dailey also made 2-of-3 from behind the three-point line.

The Panthers built on their lead in the second half. In the three-and-a-half minute stretch between the 16:30 mark and 13:00, the Panthers increased their lead from nine to 15.

However, Tech would not go out without making one last drive for the lead.

With just under six minutes to play, the Golden Eagles had brought the lead back down to nine after a pair of free throws by freshman forward Tamara Gilyard.

But Eastern responded with a 9-0 run capitalized by a pair of plays by Sparks.

The first play gave Eastern a 16-point lead when Karos found Sparks in the corner for a three-pointer to beat the shot clock.

Sparks capped the run with an easy layup after intercepting a pass just past mid court.

Eastern had the lead up to 21 points with 2:21 remaining, but a three by Brackin and a pair of free throws by junior forward/center Andrea Brown brought the lead down to 16.

Sparks ended the scoring with eight seconds left when she drove to the hoop from the wing for a layup. She finished with a game high 18 points and team high nine rebounds.

Dailey only played seven minutes of the second half and finished the game with 15 points. Meyers led the Panthers with four of their 12 steals and two of their seven blocks.

Brackin led the Golden Eagles with 12 points and lived up to reputation as one of the best three-point shooters in the OVC by making 4-of-11 from behind the arc.

The only negative aspect of the game for the Panthers were their 15 turnovers.

“I just thought we had too many unnecessary turnovers,” Wunder said. “It’s still a thing we need to keep working on. We were able to get away with it tonight, but these are things we can’t keep doing.”