SEARCY, ARK. – The East Central University women's basketball team fell to Harding, 63-70, on the road in the final week of Great American Conference regular-season action.
The Tigers (10-15, 10-11 GAC) were led by junior
Courtney Cowan, who tallied 16 points and two rebounds, while junior
Whitney Stotler added 16 points and four boards.
The Bisons (16-9, 14-7 GAC) opened the first three minutes on a 2-6 run, but ECU quickly countered to tie the game at six and take an 11-8 lead over the next three minutes. The teams battled through to a 13-all tie, with 52 seconds left in the opening quarter, but Harding earned the last three points for a 13-16 advantage.
The teams battled through the first four minutes of the second quarter, resulting in the Bisons leading by six (20-26). That is when the Tigers found a new gear and only allowed Harding to score one point the rest of the half, while adding 17 of their own for a 37-27 lead at the intermission.
ECU pushed its advantage out to 14 points (44-30) in the first three minutes of the third quarter. The teams played even for the next two minutes, but in the final 4:30 of the quarter, Harding used a 10-0 run to cut the disadvantage to two (47-45).
The Bisons continued the pressure in the fourth quarter and did not allow the Tigers to score through the first 3:30, extending their lead to 47-56. Harding kept the advantage between eight and 13 points until the final minute of the game. ECU fought back and scored the final five points of the game, but still fell 63-70.
Both teams shot around 37 percent for the game, but the Bisons took advantage of 14 more trips to the free throw line to earn the win. The Tigers went 8-of-11 from the charity stripe, but allowed Harding to go 16-of-25.
ECU will now get ready to face No. 15 Arkansas Tech, Saturday, Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. in the final regular-season game of the 2015-16 season. The Golden Suns have already clinched the 2016 GAC regular-season title and will be the No. 1 seed in the tournament, March 3-6 in Bartlesville, Okla.
