The last time Eastern and Tennessee State met was in Nashville, where the Tigers hit a shot with 3.5 seconds left, sneaking past the Panthers with a two-point win.

At practice Wednesday in Lantz Arena, Eastern head coach Brady Sallee had the final score of the earlier meeting with Tennessee, 58-56, on the scoreboard as a reminder to the girls.

“We just wanted them to remember what happened at their place (earlier this season), and it was a real simple message that we have to take care of that,” Sallee said.

Eastern will get its rematch at 5:15 tonight in Lantz Arena. Its Ohio Valley Conference tournament hopes are on the line.

“It’s a big game, so we have to get a win,” senior center Pam O’Connor said.

The Panthers (9-13, 2-9 OVC) are coming off a loss to conference-leading Southeast Missouri, and the Tigers (3-7, 6-15) are hoping to build momentum after snapping a five-game losing streak against Morehead State over the weekend.

Eastern and Tennessee are last and third to last respectively in the conference, and each is hoping to make a run to jump into the top eight of the OVC to make the conference tournament.

“From here on out, every game is huge, and we only have three home games left, and we have to take care of our home games, ” Sallee said. “We’re in a must-win situation from here on out. Not that we have to run the table to get in, but we need every win we can get.”

When the teams met earlier this season, the Tigers dominated inside, scoring 40 points in the paint and grabbing 25 rebounds off the offensive glass.

“They’re just so much more athletic than we are,” Sallee said “(Kendra Bailey) just killed us on the offensive boards and most of those points in the paint came of offensive rebounds and put backs.”

Bailey, a senior forward/center, had 15 rebounds, 12 offensive, and 17 points for the Tigers. Tennessee had a total of 17 second-chance points in the game.

“They have very aggressive, physical post players and are very athletic,” O’Connor said.

Sallee knows what his team must do if it hopes to get back on track to the OVC tournament with a win over Tennessee

“If we don’t do the job on the boards and we allow them to get those, we’ll be in a dog fight,” Sallee said. “If we can control the boards and do what we need to do, then I like the way were playing, and I feel good about playing at home.”