The East Central University women's basketball team will jump right back into Great American Conference action this weekend when they travel to face Henderson State (Dec. 3/5:30 p.m.) and Ouachita Baptist (Dec. 5/1 p.m.) in Arkadelphia, Ark.

Game Notes

The Broadcast
ECU's radio home for Tigers basketball in 2015-16 is Ada's KXFC, 105.5, FM 'The X-Factor'. Kenny Morrison returns to broadcast the games for his 19th 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 women'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 Henderson State
The Reddies are 2-4 overall and 2-0 in the GAC defeating Southern Nazarene and Oklahoma Baptist in the first weekend of league action.  Thursday's game will be just the second of the season at home for HSU, having fallen to Arkansas-Fort Smith (87-89).

So far in 2015-16, the Reddies have a -3.3 scoring and a +2.0 rebounding margin.  While HSU is close to its opponents in overall shooting percentage (.415/.413) they trail .291 to .397 in three-point shooting.

The Reddies have four players that are averaging over 10 points per game, with Dulincia Keener leading the team.  Keener is netting 13.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, while making 52.4 percent of her shots.  Victoria Stewart adds 13.5 points and 5.2 boards, Haleigh Henson 12.8 points and Brittany Branum 10.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.

The Series
While the Tigers and the Reddies have met on just 11 previous occasions, ECU holds a clear 9-2 advantage in the series.  That includes a 6-2 mark in conference play and a 5-1 mark when playing on the road.  The Tigers have won the last three games in the series, dating back to Jan. 30, 2014.

Scouting Ouachita Baptist
The other Tigers from the GAC have had a slow start like ECU, with a 1-4 overall and a 0-2 record in the league.  OBU will have a chance to get back on track Thursday when they face Southeastern before hosting ECU.

Ouachita trails its opponents in most categories, including a -8.0 scoring and -10.6 rebounding margin for the season.  OBU is shooting .364 from the field and .225 from beyond the arc, while allowing a .390 overall mark and a .300 three-point shooting percentage.

Ouachita has two players in double digits in the scoring column and two more around eight points per game.  Breanna Harris leads the team with 14.6 points per game, while adding 4.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per outing.  Harris is shooting .531 from the field and .167 from beyond the arc.  Katie Kapler is next with 13.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.  Kapler has a .511 overall shooting percentage and a .077 mark from three-point range.

The Series
Saturday's meeting is the 18th in the all-time series that dates back to 1983.  While Ouachita has won the last two meetings, ECU holds a 10-7 overall advantage.  This includes a 9-6 mark when playing as conference opponents.  However, OBU has a 6-3 lead when playing in Arkadelphia.

Adair Making Moves
Sophomore Alexa Adair might have played in all 27 games for ECU as a freshman, but she was behind a group of five seniors and averaged just 2.7 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.  In 2015-16 she has been forced into a leading role for the Tigers and has responded, averaging 18.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.  Adair even set career highs in the scoring column in two-straight games, with 20 against Southern Arkansas and then 28 against Arkansas-Monticello.  She has also set new career highs for rebounds (10), field goals (9), three-point field goals (6) and free throws (6).

Rebuilding Season
After losing five seniors to graduation, the Tigers are in a rebuilding year and have been picked to finish 10th in the 2015-16 GAC Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches.

Arkansas Tech was picked to finish first and Harding second.  Southwestern was third, Arkansas-Monticello fourth, Southeastern fifth, Henderson State sixth, Ouachita Baptist seventh, Northwestern eighth and Oklahoma Baptist ninth.  The two teams below ECU were Southern Arkansas (11th) and Southern Nazarene (12th).

Playing Against Strong Competition
While Saturday's game will be the first official game of the year, the Tigers played an exhibition game against Oklahoma State.  ECU fell 49-122, but the Cowgirls shot an unusually high 73.9 percent from the field and 84.6 from beyond the arc.

ECU was led by sophomore Alexa Adair who tallied 14 points, while junior Tori Huff added nine and junior Whitney Stotler eight.

Up Next
The Tigers final games in 2015 will take place at the Kerr Activities Center, with the next Dec. 16 vs. Texas A&M-Commerce at 7 p.m.  ECU will also face Central Oklahoma, Dec. 30 at noon before the finals of the Bertha Teague Mid-America Classic.