Sports Spot with Kevin Murphy/Sports Editor
It’s halfway through the Ohio Valley Conference season with both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. While the women’s team (13-7, 7-2 OVC) struggle on the road (only three wins), they are picking up victories and remain in second place in the league. The men’s team (8-11, 5-4 OVC), surprisingly, is in fourth place in the league.

The team should make the league tournament for the first time in the past four seasons as long as they stay above the ninth-place team in the 10-team league. That won’t be hard to do with an awful Southeast Missouri men’s basketball team (3-18, 0-10) that is last, and Jacksonville State’s men’s basketball team (8-10, 2-7) has struggled in the league despite impressing those during the non-conference season.

News and notes

The Eastern women’s track team posted six wins at EIU Mega Meet on Saturday at Lantz Fieldhouse. And senior sprinter Crystal Jones, who won the 400-meter dash, is excited about this year’s team.

Jones said that the women’s team is a lot more upbeat and a lot further in its training than last season.

Jones, who won her first college event, said there is a possibility that the women’s team could win the conference meet.

And the Panthers have only won the conference meet, and that was in 2006-07. Only time can tell if that will happen.