The East Central University women's basketball team starts the second half of Great American Conference action this week, with stops at Southern Arkansas (Jan. 28/5:30 p.m.) and Arkansas-Monticello (Jan. 30/1 p.m.).

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 Southern Arkansas
The Muleriders are one of the top teams in the GAC, with an 11-4 overall record and a 7-4 mark in the league. SAU has had a strong season, with a +6.7 scoring and +3.1 rebounding margin.  The Muleriders have a .468 to .386 lead in overall shooting, but the difference disappears to a .323 to .322 mark beyond the arc.

SAU has three players averaging over 10 points per game, but Rosa Bryant is the clear leader with 20.9 points and 12.3 rebounds per game, while shooting .519.  Shana Holmes is next with 13.8 points per game, a .503 overall shooting percentage and .448 percentage from beyond the arc.

The Series
While the Muleriders have been the victors in the last two meetings, the Tigers hold a 10-6 lead in the all-time series, including a 6-4 mark in the GAC.

In the last meeting, ECU fell 59-63 in Ada.  Sophomore Alexa Adair led the team with 20 points and six rebounds, while junior Whitney Stotler added 11 points and four rebounds.  Rosa Bryant led SAU with 20 points and nine rebounds, with Aleeya Harris contributing 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Scouting Arkansas-Monticello
The Cotton Blossoms are currently 8-7 overall and 5-6 in the league after dropping their last three games.  UAM might have a slight advantage in the winning column, but they have a -1.6 scoring and -1.3 rebounding margin.

The Cotton Blossoms have two players in double-digits in the scoring column, with Jordan Goforth leading the team with 22.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.  She is shooting .466 overall and .452 from beyond the arc and adds 59 assists and 28 steals.  Nikki Mullen is next with 11.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

The Series
ECU currently holds a 9-5 lead in the all-time series, including an 8-1 mark as GAC opponents and a 4-0 record in Monticello.

In the first meeting this season, the Tigers earned a 66-56 victory and were led by sophomore Alexa Adair who tallied 28 points and 10 rebounds.  Sophomore Tori Huff added 12 points.  The Cotton Blossoms were paced by Jordan Goforth with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Nikki Mullen contributed 10 points and three assists.

Jackson Player of the Week
After helping ECU to a four-game winning streak and recording three-straight double-doubles, junior Jalyn Jackson has been named the GAC Player of the Week for Jan. 26.

Prior to the week, Jackson had averaged 5.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game on 43.8 percent shooting. In the three wins for the Tigers, she averaged 13.0 points, 11.7 rebounds and made 17-of-26 shots. The Oklahoma City, Okla., native also hit the game-winning basket and tallied six steals against Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Career Weekend for the Tigers
All but two players on the active roster this season recorded at least one new career high over the weekend, with sophomore Aalyiah Blakely leading the way with four.  She reset marks for points (17), rebounds (9), steals (3) and field goals (6).  Junior Jalyn Jackson also added three career-bests, by recording 10 points in both of ECU's victories on five made shots and adding three blocks against SWOSU.

Blakely On the Court
The Tigers got a boost from the bench at the break, as sophomore Aalyiah Blakely was cleared to play after sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer rules.    In her first game for ECU she tallied seven points, five rebounds and added an assist.

Blakely came to the Tigers in the Spring 2015 semester from Oklahoma Baptist.  She saw limited action in just four games with the Bison.  Blakely is a native of Ada, Okla., where she helped the Cougars to a state tournament appearance as a senior.

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 over 10 points and around four 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).

Up Next
The Tigers will return home for a three-game home stand starting Feb. 4 against Henderson State (5:30 p.m.).  The home stand will also include games against Ouachita (Feb. 6) and Southwestern (Feb. 11).