Eastern Illinois faces UT Martin, seeks to halt 4-game slide

UT Martin Skyhawks (10-8, 6-3 OVC) at Eastern Illinois Panthers (3-18, 2-8 OVC)

Charleston, Illinois; Thursday, 6 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Eastern Illinois looks to stop its four-game skid when the Panthers play UT Martin.

The Panthers have gone 2-5 in home games. Eastern Illinois ranks fifth in the OVC with 23.1 defensive rebounds per game led by Sydney-James Desroches averaging 5.8.

The Skyhawks are 6-3 in conference matchups. UT Martin has a 2-1 record in one-possession games.

Eastern Illinois is shooting 35.7% from the field this season, 1.3 percentage points lower than the 37.0% UT Martin allows to opponents. UT Martin averages 5.2 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.6 fewer makes per game than Eastern Illinois gives up.

The matchup Thursday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ava Stoller is averaging 12.7 points and 3.1 assists for the Panthers. Desroches is averaging 9.8 points over the last 10 games.

Kenley McCarn is scoring 16.8 points per game and averaging 4.9 rebounds for the Skyhawks. Sidni Middleton is averaging 11.9 points and 5.2 rebounds over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 2-8, averaging 58.5 points, 32.7 rebounds, 11.5 assists, 7.8 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 36.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.7 points per game.

Skyhawks: 7-3, averaging 68.6 points, 32.3 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 9.9 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 42.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 62.7 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.