After the Eastern women’s basketball team’s 70-52 victory against Morehead State, I stood by the team’s locker room door as the Panthers’ coaches waited for everyone to get there.

Head coach Brady Sallee wanted to address his team after a huge victory, but couldn’t do so until the entire team was there.

They waited. And waited. And waited some more.

The reason for the delay was simple: Sallee had a newfound celebrity on his team who was busy addressing the masses.

Junior forward Maggie Kloak was missing.

She was busy doing an interview with WEIU-FM, WEIU-TV, the Journal Gazette-Times Courier and The Daily Eastern News. With how Kloak performed Saturday, it is easy to see why she has become the talk of the Eastern athletic department.

Saturday’s 20-point, 11-rebound effort appears to be the tip of the iceberg of what to expect out of Kloak.

Sallee said Kloak’s presence in the post, more than the points she scored, is what has impressed him.

“It wasn’t so much the points she put in but I think the way she impacted the game,” Sallee said. “She just really dominated. She was really special and getting herself deep in the post and scoring.”

Performances like Saturday’s have come to be expected out of senior forward Rachel Galligan. Galligan, the fourth most prolific scorer in Panther history, has long been the focal point of the team’s offense. While Galligan is still dominant, having an additional weapon makes the Panthers that much more dangerous, which was apparent Saturday as Eagles junior center Brittany Pittman could not handle the duo of Galligan and Kloak.

“(Pittman) got in foul trouble and we did too, but we had two (post players) so that was the difference in the game,” Sallee said. “We were in foul trouble, but we had 10 fouls for our post players and they only had five.”

Additionally, it must be nice for Sallee to know that, as difficult as it will be to cope with Galligan’s departure after the season, he has a more than capable forward in Kloak for one more season. And if Kloak continues to perform like she did Saturday, as well as Thursday, when she scored 18 points, the Panthers’ post should be in good hands for at least one more season.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or [email protected].