OWENSBORO, KY - Emma Johnson opened the game with a three pointer and from then on the Panthers never trailed, defeating the Hillsdale Chargers 87-65 in their G-MAC opener. KWC put four people in double-figures in the win. 

With the win the Panthers move to 4-3 (1-0 G-MAC) while the Chargers drop to 2-4 (0-1 G-MAC). 

After the Johnson three to open the game, the Panthers went on a 13-0 run that was capped off by a Tahlia Walton layup. Jumpers by Rachel Richardson and Walton near the end of the frame gave the Panthers a 26-20 lead after one. 

KWC used another run to extend their lead in the second quarter, outscoring the Chargers 7-2 early on in the quarter en-route to a 33-22 lead with 7:06 remaining. Halfway into the second quarter, four straight points by Johnson and an and-1 bucket by Shaylee McDonald extended KWC's lead to 42-26. Wesleyan held a 44-29 lead at the break.

The Chargers attempted to mount a comeback in the third quarter, but every one of their buckets was matched by one from the Panthers. After HC cut it to 10 a few minutes into the frame before a three by Walton and a bucket by Cali Nolot extended KWC's lead back to 15. Wesleyan held a 65-49 edge after three.

The closest Hillsdale got to the Panthers in the final frame was 16 and the game's final margin of victory was decided on a big and-1 bucket by Emma Leis to close out the game. 

Tahlia Walton led the Panthers with 17 points, followed by Emma Johnson (15), Cali Nolot (14), and Jordyn Barga (11). Barga tallied seven rebounds in the victory while both she and Shiya Hoosier notched four assists. 

For the game the Panthers shot 33-70 (47.1%) and 8-30 (26.7%) from behind the arc. Hillsdale shot 24-53 (45.3%) and 8-23 (34.8%) from three. The Panthers forced 26 Charger turnovers in the game while only committing 14 of their own. 

Kentucky Wesleyan will be back in action on Saturday when they host Findlay at 12 p.m.

Stay up to date on all your Panther news by following @KWCpanthers on Twitter and Instagram, and by liking the "Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics" Facebook page.