BARTLESVILLE, OKLA. – For the first time in Great American Conference tournament history, a No. 7 seed on the women's side defeated a No. 2 seed, as the East Central University women's basketball team upset Harding, 62-48, to advance to the 2016 GAC Championship Tournament semifinals.

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The Tigers (11-16) were led by junior Jalyn Jackson, who tallied her eighth double-double of the year with a career high 23 points and 12 rebounds.  Jackson also added three assists, a block and a steal, while shooting .769 (10-13) from the floor.

Junior Whitney Stotler added 15 points, six boards, two assists, a block and a steal.  Sophomore Alexa Adair added 12 points, six rebounds and six assists.

ECU came out of the gates ready to fight and took an early 11-7 advantage after the first five minutes of play.  The Bisons (17-10) didn't let the disadvantage get larger than four points in the opening quarter and fought back to a 15-14 score at the first break.

Harding made a push at the start of the second quarter, using a 5-3 run to gain its first lead (18-19), with seven minutes left to play.  However, the Tigers followed with an 8-0 run to gain a seven-point lead (26-19), with 2:30 left in the half.  The teams then traded the final four points, with ECU holding a 28-21 advantage at halftime.

The third quarter was a battle of runs, but the Tigers were able to hold on to the advantage until the final 2:35 of the stanza.  In the final minutes, the Bisons used a 6-0 run to take a 39-41 lead at the break.

Harding quickly tied the game at 43 and took a 45-43 lead with 6:15 left on the clock.  After the Bisons hit a three with five minutes left, ECU really took control and held the Bisons without a point until the final 30 seconds of the game.  Stotler and Jackson combined to score the first 15 points in the quarter for the Tigers and helped the team go on a 17-0 run to secure the 62-48 victory.

ECU earned a big advantage in the game on the glass, earning a 47-35 rebounding lead.  The Tigers also took advantage of their 14 offensive rebounds, scoring 14 points to three on the second chance by Harding.

The Tigers will now get ready to battle with No. 3 Southwestern Oklahoma State, Saturday, March 5 at 5:45 p.m. at Bruin Fieldhouse for the semifinal round of the GAC Championship Tournament.