Eastern women’s basketball head coach Lee Buchanan came right out and said it Monday night after the team’s one-point loss to Bradley — he is not Brady Sallee.

We knew that, but he is similar. He’s looking for the same things Sallee looked for out of his team – solid rebounding and getting to the free throw line.

The Panthers did both in Monday’s game against Bradley, coming off a tough 30-point loss to Indiana State on Friday.

The Panthers lost the rebounding battle, 40-33, to Bradley, but won the free throw battle.

The Panthers were 10-of-16 from the free throw line in the second half alone Monday, after taking only two attempts in the first half.

This definitely helped them get back into the game, which they trailed by five points at halftime after the Braves finished on an 11-0 run.

But the Panthers did a lot better in Monday’s game.

They started taking and making shots, although not to the best of their ability—only making 36 percent of their shots.

With four minutes left in the game, though, they were shooting 43 percent from the field, so it slipped a bit at the end of the game.

They also got some better individual performances by junior guard Jordyne Crunk, sophomore guard Katlyn Payne and junior forward Taryn Olson.

Payne scored nine points in the game, all on three pointers.

All of her points came consecutively, scoring nine straight points for the Panthers in one stretch of the second half.

Olson, who Buchanan said was playing confidently coming into the season, was 3-of-6 from the field and scored 6 points.

Crunk also scored six points on 2-of-7 shooting and got to the free throw line for two points.

Her biggest contribution may have come from the energy she brought to the team when she came on the floor.

The Panthers fell down 7-2 early in the game and Crunk was immediately subbed in at the 17:38 mark of the first half.

The Panthers came back to tighten the game, only trailing 12-10, before Crunk was taken out of the game.

The Panthers also won the turnover battle, which only matters if a team can capitalize on the turnovers. The Panthers did.

They turned Bradley over 24 times, including 15 steals and turned it into 23 points.

Senior guard Ta’Kenya Nixon led the team with five steals of her own to go with 11 points and four assists.

If nothing else, the Bradley loss shows us that this Eastern team isn’t the team we saw or read about after the Indiana State debacle.

This is a team that fights.

The Panthers are still trying to work out some kinks, but it’s a process.

Two losses wont affect a season this early.

Alex McNamee can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].