2024–25 Eastern Illinois Panthers women's basketball team

2024–25 Eastern Illinois Panthers women's basketball
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
Record18–12 (15–5 OVC)
Head coach
  • Marqus McGlothan (interim)
Assistant coaches
  • Destiny Bragman
  • Caitlyn Peterson
  • Betsy MacDonald
Home arenaGroniger Arena
2024–25 Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Tennessee Tech † 18 – 2   .900 26 – 6   .813
Lindenwood* 16 – 4   .800 23 – 11   .676
15 – 5   .750 18 – 12   .600
Little Rock 12 – 8   .600 14 – 16   .467
Southern Indiana* 12 – 8   .600 23 – 13   .639
UT Martin 10 – 10   .500 13 – 19   .406
Western Illinois 8 – 12   .400 17 – 17   .500
Tennessee State 6 – 14   .300 10 – 21   .323
Morehead State 5 – 15   .250 10 – 20   .333
Southeast Missouri State 4 – 16   .200 6 – 23   .207
SIU Edwardsville 4 – 16   .200 6 – 23   .207
† 2025 OVC tournament winner
* ineligible for the 2025 NCAA tournament due to transition period

The 2024–25 Eastern Illinois Panthers women's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Panthers, who were led by interim head coach Marqus McGlothan, played their home games at Groniger Arena in Charleston, Illinois, as members of the Ohio Valley Conference.

Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2023–24 season 15–18, 11–7 in OVC play, to finish in a three-way tie for second place.[1] They would defeat Tennessee State,[2] before falling to top-seeded and eventual tournament champions Southern Indiana in the semifinals of the OVC tournament.[3]

On May 20, 2024, head coach Matt Bollant announced that he would be leaving the program after seven seasons, in order to retake the head coaching position at Bryan College, a position he held from 2002–2007,[4] with associate head coach Marqus McGlothan being named the interim head coach for the 2024–25 season.[5]

Preseason

On October 16, 2024, the OVC released their preseason coaches poll. Eastern Illinois was picked to finish third in the OVC regular season.[6]

Preseason rankings

OVC preseason poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Southern Indiana 200 (20)
2 UT Martin 180 (2)
3 Eastern Illinois 145
4 Tennessee Tech 140
5 Little Rock 135
6 Western Illinois 119
7 Lindenwood 81
T-8 SIU Edwardsville 61
Morehead State
10 Tennessee State 59
11 Southeast Missouri State 29

Source:[6]

Players to Watch

Each OVC team selected two "Players to Watch" for their team.

Players to Watch
Player Position Year
Macy McGlone Forward Senior
Lalani Ellis Guard Sophomore

Source:[6]

Roster

2024–25 Eastern Illinois Panthers women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Lalani Ellis 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) So Milwaukee Academy of Science Milwaukee, Wisconsin
F 1 Ella Lune 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS So Brimfield High School Brimfield, Illinois
F 2 Kennedy Davis (5Y) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sr Tennessee State White Plains, Maryland
G 3 Alex Rouse 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Bradley Little Rock, Arkansas
G 4 Lyric Johnson 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) RS So Hortonville High School Hortonville, Wisconsin
F 5 Jayda Johnston (5Y) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sr Valparaiso Roseville, Minnesota
G 7 Kiyley Flowers 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Sr Southeast Missouri State Independence, Missouri
G 10 Adriana Arroyo 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) RS Fr CB Alcobendas Madrid, Spain
C 14 Ellie Colson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr Summit High School Thompson's Station, Tennessee
F 15 Georgia Cox 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) RS Fr Ballarat Rush Ballarat, Australia
G 21 Tiny Lewis 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Jr North Dakota State College of Science St. Cloud, Minnesota
G 22 Alanna Phillipo 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Fr Marianapolis Preparatory School Millbury, Massachusetts
F 23 Sydney-James Desroches 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS So Rossview High School Miami, Florida
F 30 Olivia Thostenson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr International Falls High School International Falls, Minnesota
F 33 Macy McGlone 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Sr Milwaukee Greenville, Wisconsin
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on
  • (5Y) Fifth-year senior
  • Injured
  • Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: April 19, 2025

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 4, 2024*
6:00 pm 		Illinois Wesleyan W 70–67  –
 Groniger Arena (347)
Charleston, IL
Non-conference regular season
November 8, 2024*
7:00 pm, MidcoSN 		at North Dakota L 63–66  0–1
 Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,712)
Grand Forks, ND
November 10, 2024*
2:00 pm, MidcoSN 		at North Dakota State L 56–65  0–2
 Scheels Center (752)
Fargo, ND
November 14, 2024*
6:00 pm, B1G+ 		at No. 23 Illinois L 37–84  0–3
 State Farm Center (3,645)
Champaign, IL
November 20, 2024*
7:00 pm, B1G+ 		at Minnesota L 52–81  0–4
 Williams Arena (2,946)
Minneapolis, MN
November 23, 2024*
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Loyola Chicago W 66–60  1–4
 Groniger Arena (100)
Charleston, IL
November 27, 2024*
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		IU Indy W 66–49  2–4
 Groniger Arena (271)
Charleston, IL
December 3, 2024*
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		at No. 13 Kansas State L 43–90  2–5
 Bramlage Coliseum (3,407)
Manhattan, KS
December 6, 2024*
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Indiana State W 73–60  3–5
 Groniger Arena (505)
Charleston, IL
December 15, 2024*
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at No. 18 Iowa State L 55–87  3–6
 Hilton Coliseum (10,122)
Ames, IA
OVC regular season
December 19, 2024
5:15 pm, ESPN+ 		at Southeast Missouri State W 71–55  4–6
(1–0) 		Show Me Center (613)
Cape Girardeau, MO
December 21, 2024
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Little Rock W 59–56  5–6
(2–0) 		Jack Stephens Center (593)
Little Rock, AR
January 2, 2025
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Lindenwood W 77–65  6–6
(3–0) 		Groniger Arena (456)
Charleston, IL
January 4, 2025
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Western Illinois W 70–60  7–6
(4–0) 		Groniger Arena (506)
Charleston, IL
January 7, 2025
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		SIU Edwardsville W 69–56  8–6
(5–0) 		Groniger Arena (342)
Charleston, IL
January 9, 2025
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Tennessee Tech W 71–40  9–6
(6–0) 		Groniger Arena (451)
Charleston, IL
January 16, 2025
5:30 pm, ESPN+ 		at UT Martin W 51–48  10–6
(7–0) 		Skyhawk Arena (1,411)
Martin, TN
January 18, 2025
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Tennessee State W 67–54  11–6
(8–0) 		Gentry Center (352)
Nashville, TN
January 23, 2025
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Morehead State W 100–46  12–6
(9–0) 		Groniger Arena (936)
Charleston, IL
January 25, 2025
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Southern Indiana W 51–49  13–6
(10–0) 		Groniger Arena (1,434)
Charleston, IL
January 30, 2025
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Western Illinois L 52–62  13–7
(10–1) 		Western Hall (512)
Macomb, IL
February 1, 2025
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Lindenwood L 55–57  13–8
(10–2) 		Robert F. Hyland Arena (539)
St. Charles, MO
February 4, 2025
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at SIU Edwardsville W 67–61 OT 14–8
(11–2) 		First Community Arena (828)
Edwardsville, IL
February 8, 2025
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Tennessee Tech L 54–65  14–9
(11–3) 		Hooper Eblen Center (1,147)
Cookeville, TN
February 13, 2025
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Tennessee State W 69–49  15–9
(12–3) 		Groniger Arena (540)
Charleston, IL
February 15, 2025
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UT Martin W 66–62  16–9
(13–3) 		Groniger Arena (1,034)
Charleston, IL
February 20, 2025
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Southern Indiana L 46–66  16–10
(13–4) 		Liberty Arena (969)
Evansville, IN
February 22, 2025
12:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Morehead State L 61–62  16–11
(13–5) 		Ellis Johnson Arena (467)
Morehead, KY
February 27, 2025
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Little Rock W 53–44  17–11
(14–5) 		Groniger Arena (843)
Charleston, IL
March 1, 2025
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Southeast Missouri State W 85–52  18–11
(15–5) 		Groniger Arena (1,434)
Charleston, IL
OVC tournament
March 6, 2025
3:00 pm, ESPN+ 		(3) vs. (7) Western Illinois
Quarterfinals 		L 75–78  18–12
 Ford Center (1,177)
Evansville, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Sources:[7][8]

References

  1. ^ "2023-24 Women's Basketball Standings". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  2. ^ "Women's Basketball Moves On In OVC Tournament". Eastern Illinois University Athletics. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  3. ^ "USI beats Eastern Illinois in semifinal round of OVC championship". Evansville Courier & Press. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  4. ^ "Bollant leaves EIU basketball program". The Daily Eastern News. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  5. ^ "Twins' Diversity and New Ownership Take Spotlight as EIU Coach Aims to Upset Gophers in 'Money Game". Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "Southern Indiana Predicted As 2024-25 OVC Women's Basketball Favorites". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  7. ^ "2024-25 Women's Basketball Schedule". Eastern Illinois University Athletics. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  8. ^ "Eastern Illinois Panthers 2024-25 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
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