The Eastern women’s basketball team set the record for best start to a season Saturday with a win over Jacksonville State, but it wasn’t pretty.

The Panthers, now 16-4, set the record for the best start in program history. The previous best was in the 1982-1983 season when the Panthers were 15-5.

The Panthers had started the second half with the lead, but went 1-for-11 from the field to start the half. The Panthers also committed 18 turnovers in the game, which they won 71-55.

Eastern head coach Brady Sallee said the Panthers had to keep taking shots in the second half before they started making them.

After the 1-for-11 start in the second half, the Panthers finished the game 9-for-17 and never lost the lead.

Just as the Panthers were struggling, Jacksonville State was too. The Panthers held the Gamecocks to 33 percent shooting from the field.

The Panthers may have been turning the ball over too much, but Sallee said the Panthers continued to dominate defensively and in the rebounding battle.

The Panthers also held the Gamecocks’ stars in check. Destiny Lane only had 11 points, to lead her team. Danielle Vaughn was held to eight points. Briana Morrow was held to four points and fouled out of the game.

“That was definitely what we needed there,” Sallee said.

Likewise, the Gamecocks also held the Panthers’ stars in check. Junior guard Ta’Kenya Nixon had seven points, while junior forward Mariah King had five. However, the difference came from the other contributors. Despite, Nixon and King being held in check, Sallee said the Panthers had plenty of other capable scorers.

“Jacksonville State made a concerted effort to keep Mariah out of the game,” Sallee said. “They got after Ta’Kenya in transition and guarded her well.”

The Panthers got big contributions from junior forward Sydney Mitchell, who led the team in scoring with 14 points. Senior forward Chantelle Pressley scored 12 points. Red-shirt freshman guard Katlyn Payne came off the bench to score nine points.

Sallee said Pressley benefited from a lot of focus being on King, but also scored the way she usually does – by getting rebounds, putbacks and getting to the free throw line.

Payne scored all of her nine points from the three-point line.

“Katlyn basically played H-O-R-S-E out there, taking open shots,” Sallee said.

The Panthers also got contributions from junior guard Kelsey Wyss with eight points and freshman forward Sabina Oroszova with seven points.

The Panthers are headed straight from Jacksonville, Ala. to Murray, Ky. where they’ll play Murray State at 7 p.m. Monday.

Alex McNamee can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected].