Breaking 100 points was not a bad way to earn the first victory of the season.

Two days after scoring only 54 points and shooting 25 percent from the floor in a loss to Tennessee Tech, the Panthers scored 56 points in the first half of a 106-68 drubbing of Tennessee State Saturday night.

The crowd erupted with 2:25 remaining when junior guard Megan Casad hit a free throw for the team’s 100 point.

It was the first time the Panthers have scored over 100 points in a conference game since the 1999-2000 season when they defeated Morehead State 102-69.

The 106 points represents the third-highest point total for the Panthers since they joined Division I in 1982.

It was fun for me to watch us play,” said head coach Brady Sallee. “We dismantled TSU.”

The dismantling was on both sides of the ball.

The Panthers (1-6, 1-1 Ohio Valley Conference) finished with four players in double figures with senior guard Megan Sparks leading with 15 points.

Offensively, they shot 65 percent including 58 percent from three-point range.

Freshman guard Megan Edwards finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and a career-high 10 assists.

On the defensive end, the Panthers held the Lady Tigers to 37 percent shooting and midway through the first half held Tennessee State scoreless for more than six minutes in an 18-0 run that led to a 31-13 lead.

“(Sallee) was not impressed by our 31 points,” said junior guard Meggie Eck. “He was more impressed with us holding them on 13.”

During the run, the team forced seven of their 27 turnovers in the game.

The Lady Tigers (0-6, 0-2) were coming off of a 19-point loss to Southeast Missouri. Head coach Tracee Jones looked at the game as a learning experience for her team with its four starting freshmen.

“It definitely is,” she said. “(But) with two teams without wins, you’d have hoped it wouldn’t happen here.”

Freshman center Rachel Galligan had seven rebounds and two blocks to accompany her 13 points for a perfect 6-for-6 shooting night from the field.

It was the second consecutive strong game for Galligan who is shooting 71 percent from the field in OVC play.

“She just turned around and shot it,” Sallee said. “She made the game really simple.”

The Panthers used a new energy that they spoke about at Friday’s practice to help them overcome their early-season struggles, Eck said.

The energy carried over to the court.

“When a team can come out in that mindset, it’s a whole lot of fun,” Sallee said. “And it’s tough to play against.”

After losing multiple second-half leads and an overtime game against Butler, Saturday’s game showed the players what they could do when they apply full-court pressure.

“A huge amount,” Galligan said about how much confidence was given with this performance. “Now we know what we are capable of doing.”

The box score showed how balanced the game was for the Panthers.

Eck came off the bench to score 13 points and didn’t miss a shot converting three three-pointers and four free throws.

Freshman guard Ellen Canale was also perfect from the field making all four of her shots, including two from three-point range for 10 points.

“We’re getting there,” Sallee said. “We finally put one together and now the challenge is putting one more together.”