Eastern’s women’s basketball team lost two players over Christmas break, making things tougher for Panther head coach Brady Sallee in his first year at the helm.

Sophomore forward Meagan Scaggs tore her MCL and ACL in her left knee in practice after a Dec. 30 game against Mercer and will miss the rest of the season.

In addition to Scaggs’ season ending injury, the Panthers will be without freshman guard Sasa Ciulisova, who left Eastern to move back to Presov, Slovakia for personal matters, Sallee said.

Scaggs started 10 of the 11 games she played in before her injury, averaging 6.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Scaggs said she ran into another player while jumping in the air, and when she landed she heard two pops.

“I knew it blew when I heard those pops,” Scaggs said.

Outside of the numbers that Scaggs put up on paper, Sallee is worried about the intangibles that Scaggs brought to the team, he said.

“I wouldn’t call this a distraction necessarily, but it leaves a pretty sizable void to fill,” Sallee said. “(Scaggs) was kind of our warrior out there, and we’re struggling to replace that.”

Scaggs absence could be clearly seen in Eastern’s loss to Southeast Missouri on Tuesday night. The Panthers were out rebounded 47-33 and gave up 21 offensive rebounds in their 88-70 defeat.

The Panthers won’t be able to look to one player coming off the bench, and Sallee said he will use several players to fill the gap left by Scaggs.

“Personality wise we don’t have anyone who can fill that role,” Sallee said. “That mentality isn’t something you can turn on and off; it’s inside her.”

While Scaggs sits out with her first major injury, she has begun rehab to strengthen her leg before surgery, which she expects to be performed in February, she said. Scaggs hopes to make a difference anyway she can while she sits out, she said.

“It’s hard to sit out and watch, but I still show up to practice and travel with the team when I can,” Scaggs said.

Sallee hopes that Scaggs will use this time to gain more knowledge of basketball.

“I want her to look at the game from a different perspective,” Sallee said, “and see why things happen (on the court) instead of how they happen.”