Nicastro leads Western Illinois against Eastern Illinois after 25-point game

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Western Illinois Leathernecks (13-2, 5-1 OVC) at Eastern Illinois Panthers (3-14, 2-4 OVC)

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

BOTTOM LINE: Western Illinois faces Eastern Illinois after Mia Nicastro scored 25 points in Western Illinois' 77-60 victory over the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles.

The Panthers are 2-4 on their home court. Eastern Illinois has a 1-9 record in games decided by 10 points or more.

The Leathernecks are 5-1 in OVC play. Western Illinois ranks third in the OVC with 10.7 offensive rebounds per game led by Raegan McCowan averaging 2.6.

Eastern Illinois is shooting 35.9% from the field this season, 2.4 percentage points lower than the 38.3% Western Illinois allows to opponents. Western Illinois averages 6.5 more points per game (79.7) than Eastern Illinois gives up (73.2).

The matchup Tuesday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ava Stoller is averaging 12.6 points and 3.2 assists for the Panthers. Clara Glad is averaging 9.1 points over the last 10 games.

Nicastro is averaging 23.1 points and 9.9 rebounds for the Leathernecks. Addi Brownfield is averaging 13.0 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Panthers: 2-8, averaging 57.9 points, 29.8 rebounds, 11.3 assists, 8.1 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 35.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.4 points per game.

Leathernecks: 9-1, averaging 77.3 points, 36.4 rebounds, 13.2 assists, 8.9 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 44.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 57.9 points.

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