By Alex McNamee

Staff Reporter

A charging call against Eastern senior guard Ta’Kenya Nixon ignited a flame in the Panthers’ huddle, trailing by four points with 52 seconds to go.

The Panthers’ lineup on the floor — Nixon, Jordyne Crunk, Katlyn Payne, Mariah King and Sabina Oroszova — looked at each other, upset at the call, and decided “OK, this is how it’s gonna be,” Nixon said.

Out of the timeout, the Panthers threw something at Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis that the Jaguars hadn’t seen — and the Panthers hadn’t done all season — a full-court press.

But the press wasn’t planned; rather, the players followed Nixon, who jumped in front of a player to prevent an initial inbounds pass.

The inbounder and team’s leading scorer, Kerah Nelson, hesitated before throwing the ball over he teammate’s head and out of bounds. The Panthers swung the turnover into two quick points to make the next possession manageable.

“I think teams that press (IUPUI) have a hard time bringing the ball up themselves,” Nixon said. “We don’t press, so it probably threw them off.”

On the ensuing IUPUI possession, the Panthers’ defense didn’t have to foul because of the nine-second difference between the shot clock and game clock, so the defense forced a bad three-point shot with 18 seconds left and Crunk grabbed the rebound. IUPUI was 2-of-23 on three-point shots, in the game.

Then, King sank another layup with defenders’ hands all over her to send the game to overtime.

“I knew Mariah was going to play a big role in this game, I just didn’t know the numbers she’d have,” Eastern head coach Lee Buchanan said, referring to King’s double-double.

The Panthers took control in overtime, outscoring IUPUI 13-2, while only taking two shots from the field on their way to a 71-60 win.

“We refused to lose,” sophomore forward Sabina Oroszova said.

Buchanan said the team needed grit in the second half to overcome a 25-19 halftime deficit, telling his team, “You’re letting them push you around.”

The Panthers found the grit with 10 minutes left in the game, trailing by 11 points, although Nixon said she’s doesn’t know how.

“Maybe it was something Coach said, maybe it was someone finishing a hard play,” Nixon said. “It was really just playing hard. That’s what we did.”

Eastern came out of a timeout with 10:09 remaining and finally put the Jaguars on their heels, racing on a 12-2 run in the next 2:47 to come within one point.

With key free throws by Oroszova and Crunk and a timely three-pointer by Payne, the Panthers set themselves up to take the lead. They did it on a three-pointer by Oroszova.

Meanwhile, Eastern held IUPUI’s leading scorer, Nelson, without points as they came back for eight minutes.

“(Nelson) was really good,” Oroszova said.

But the Panthers were better, getting double-doubles from Oroszova and King after each only had three points going into halftime, and 17 points and five steals from Nixon.

Both Oroszova and King were slowed with two fouls in the first half, forcing Crunk and junior forward Taryn Olson to play big minutes.

Oroszova said the Panthers’ ball movement helped her and King get open in the post in the second half. Oroszova scored 12 of her 15 points in the second half, while King scored 16 of her 19.

The duo scored the Panthers’ first eight points in overtime and 10 of the 13 total points in the period.

In the end, though, it was players without flashy stat lines getting some praise in the locker room hallway.

Payne asserted herself in the second half taking three shots, including the three-pointer, grabbing four rebounds and making a steal. Crunk played 16 minutes in the second half, scoring four points — all on free throws.

Also, both players threw their bodies to the floor trying to track down loose balls — a motivating sight for teammates.

“There’s no way to describe that feeling when you see someone like that,” Nixon said. “Someone who cares that much to do that. That fires you up.”

That kind of effort is expect, Nixon noted, and Buchanan said it’s more like a “trademark of our basketball program.”

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