Emily Clemens led the way with 20 points and nine assists, followed by Mallory Boyle's career-high 17 points, Morgan Blumer (14), Michelle Farrow (11) and Taylor Higginbotham (11).

Western's 8-3 start is its best since the 2005-06 season (started 14-2).

The Panthers jumped out to a 9-5 advantage in the first quarter, but the Leathernecks eventually took an 18-17 lead entering the second quarter.

An 11-4 run by Western Illinois gave it a 27-19 lead with 7:32 left in the second quarter. The lead increased to 33-21 after Clemens launched a full-court pass to Boyle for a transition layup at the 3:21 mark. By halftime, Western led 40-23 after outscoring the Panthers 19-4 in the final 8:56 of the second quarter.

In the third quarter, Western still maintained a double-digit lead throughout the period, and entered the final quarter with a 21-point advantage. The Panthers, however, cut the game to 12 points after a 20-9 run with 5:22 to go.

"I thought we had really good defense in the second quarter. We got our offense going and they [Eastern Illinois] only scored six points that quarter, so I was happy about that," said head coach JD Gravina. "When we got that cushion, we could play comfortably on offense, which is a good way that we play. I thought we had a bad defensive third quarter, and we really struggled with that balance of being aggressive and not passive, out in the stretch. That's something we'll have to simulate in practice."

A pair of Clemens free throws, which preceded an and-1 by Boyle, gave Western the momentum back to close out the game with an 83-62 win.

Along with her career-high 17 points, Boyle also recorded six rebounds and three steals.

"Mallory is a kid who's really worked to be where she's at," said Gravina. "In her freshmen and sophomore years, she struggled to get in the rotation and just had the best attitude about it.  She really set an example for the other kids who come in as freshmen thinking they're going to set the world on fire and realize college basketball is a lot tougher."

 Blumer had two steals and a block with her 14 points, while Higginbotham had three assists and two steals. Farrow added two assists with her 11 points, and Olivia Braun had eight points and eight rebounds.

The Panthers (4-7) were led by Eric Brown's 25 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals. Halle Stull added 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. 

Western Illinois has a week off before hitting the road to face Chicago State on Saturday (Dec. 17) at 2 p.m. Three days later, the Leathernecks close out the non-conference season at home against Illinois State on Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.

TEAM NOTES:
-Western Illinois has now had back-to-back games with five players scoring in double figures…
-8-3 is best start since the 2005-06 season…
-Western's 12 three point field goals marks the second straight game of hitting 10 or more in a  contest…seventh game this season of hitting 10 or more threes in a game…
-Head coach JD Gravina picked up his 195th career win...

PLAYER NOTES:
-Emily Clemens was one assist shy of recording back-to-back double-doubles…20 points marks her sixth 20-plus point game this season (10th of her career)…streak of double-digit scoring is to 11 this season…nine assists marks her sixth five-plus assist game this season (21st of her career)…now only 14 assists away from 300 in her career…
-Olivia Braun tied her career-high of eight rebounds for the second time this season…tied career-high of one 3-point field goal made for the second time…career-high three free throws made…
-Mallory Boyle set a new career high of 17 points…also tied her career-high of seven field goals made for the second time…now only 14 points away from 300 in her career
-Morgan Blumer's 14 points marks her 10th career double-digit scoring game…
-Jasmine Patrick tied her career-high of two blocks for the third time…
-Michelle Farrow recorded her 11th double-digit scoring game of her career…
-Taylor Higginbotham has over 500 career points following the Graceland and Eastern Illinois games…she now has 514 in her career…also tied her career-high of one block for the fifth time…

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