DECATUR, Ill. - The women's basketball team tipped off their 2021-22 regular season with a tight 67-65 loss to Illinois College at Millikin.

The Panthers led early, jumping out to a 10 point advantage early in the game, but the Lady Blues managed to come back and carried a 23-18 lead into the second quarter.

At halftime, Illinois College led the Greenville by seven, 35-28.

Greenville began to chip away at the deficit in the third quarter, outscoring IC 21-15 and trailing by one, 50-49 after three periods.

The Panthers had a opportunity to tie the game at the free throw line late in the game, but two charity tosses were off target and Greenville fell short by two points.

Madelyn Stephen opened her junior season as the top scorer with 19 points in the game. Ashley Anderson and Emily Reinneck joined her in double figures with 13 points, and Abigail Reinneck had a 10 point outing.

The Panthers (0-1) will face Millikin on the road on Saturday.