The East Central University women's basketball team will play its first Great American Conference game of the 2014-15 season this Thursday, Nov. 20 at 5:30 p.m. when they travel to Arkansas-Monticello.

Game Notes

The Broadcast
ECU's radio home for Tigers basketball in 2012-13 is Ada's KXFC, 105.5, FM 'The X-Factor'. Kenny Morrison returns to broadcast the games for his 18th season. Morrison, a 1987 ECU graduate, spent two seasons doing color prior to taking over the play-by-play duties during the 1997-98 season.  

The Coverage
Fans who can't be at the game can find links to live stats, live video (if available) and the KXFC radio broadcast on ECUTigers.com.  Go to the men's basketball schedule page. Fans can listen to the radio broadcast online or through the FREE KXFC App available in ITunes, Google Stores where apps are sold and www.kxfcradio.com.

Scouting Arkansas-Monticello
The Cotton Blossoms are 0-1 overall after falling to Lindenwood (68-70) last week.  UAM finished the 2013-14 season with an 8-18 mark overall and a 4-16 record in the GAC.  The Cotton Blossoms return seven players, including four starters from last season and were picked to finish last in the GAC Preseason Poll.

Jordan Goforth and Tamia Grady are two of the top returning starters for UAM, with Goforth tallying 20 points and six boards in the opening game of the season and Grady adding 17 points and three assists.  Newcomer Taylor Collins was the final player in double-digits with 15 points and four steals.

Against the Cotton Blossoms
Last season, the Tigers went 2-0 against UAM, winning by an average of 15.5 points.

Seniors Taylor Fischer, Erin Walling and Dilan Webster all earned double-digit point averages.  Fischer netted 17 points and three rebounds per game, Walling added 12 points and 2.5 boards per outing and Webster garnered 11 points and 6.5 rebound per game.

Nikki Mullen and Tamia Grady both averaged 12.5 points per game for the Cotton Blossoms, with Muller recording 3.5 rebounds per game and Grady 4.0.

The Series
Thursday's game will be the 10th in the all-time series, with ECU currently holding a 5-4 advantage after winning the last three games.  

First Game/First Win
First-year head coach Matt Cole started out his head coaching career the best way a coach can, with a win in his first game when the Tigers defeated Rogers State 57-54 (Nov. 15, 2014).

Half and Half
The Tigers return have of a quartet that tallied double-digit point totals in 2013-14, with Alycea Price and Ashley Robison both graduating and Dilan Webster and Erin Walling returning for their senior seasons in 2014-15.  Webster netted 11.2 points per game and added 6.3 boards, while Walling garnered 11.1 points and 4.2 rebounds.

Already Atop the Leader Board
Senior Dilan Webster has been a force to deal with on the blocks, as she became the ECU all-time leading blocker before her junior season (2013-14).  Webster tallied 30 more blocks a year ago to more her own school record to 126 career blocks.

Starting Where We Left Off
ECU was picked to finish tied for fourth in the Great American Conference standings for the 2014-15 season in the annual Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.  The Tigers finished with 58 points in the poll, with Harding picked to repeat as champions with 99 points and nine first-place votes.  ECU finished the 2013-14 season second with an overall record of 19-9 and a 13-7 mark in league games.

Up Next
The Tigers will continue their road trip to open the 2014-15 season with a final stop at Henderson State, Saturday, Nov. 20.  The game is set to tip off at 5:30 p.m.

Up Next at the Kerr Activities Center
ECU will open the home portion of the 2014-15 season, Tuesday, Nov. 25 when they host Cameron at 5:30 p.m. at the Kerr Activities Center.  The game is part of a double-header with the men's team, who plays Rogers State at 7:30 p.m.