RUSSELLVILLE, ARK. – The East Central University women's basketball played a well-fought game against No. 13 Arkansas Tech, but ended up falling 43-68 in Great American Conference action on the road.

The Tigers (2-8, 1-5 GAC) were paced by junior Devon Branch, who tallied 17 points and went six-for-six from the charity stripe.  Sophomore Tia Williams added nine points, while senior Jalyn Jackson garnered a team-best eight rebounds and added two blocks

The opening quarter was a back-and-forth battle for control, with four lead changes and a tie, before someone could take more than a two-point advantage.  Unfortunately for ECU, with just over half of the period left it was the Golden Suns (9-1, 5-1 GAC) who were able to push the lead out to six points and were leading 13-19 at the end of the stanza.

ATU pushed up the tempo in the second quarter and increased the lead out to 10 in the opening minutes.  That allowed them to go into the locker room with a 27-37 advantage.

The Golden Suns added to their lead in the third quarter and had it up to 15 (29-44), midway through the stanza.  The Tigers were then able to go on a 4-0 run over the next three minutes, but it only cut the disadvantage to 11 (33-44).  ATU pushed back in the final minutes and led 37-50 going in the fourth quarter.

The pressure wasn't let up in the fourth quarter, with the Golden Suns increasing the lead out to as many as 25 on the way to a 43-68 victory.

ATU had a strong day shooting, with a 41.8 percentage overall, 30.4 percent from three and 88.2 from the free-throw line.  ECU was held to just 24.5 percent from the field and 15.8 percent from beyond the arc, while adding an 87.5 percent from the charity stripe.

The Tigers will now return home for a single game before hitting the road for the next three.  ECU will host Southwestern, Thursday, Jan. 12 at 5:30 p.m. in the Kerr Activities Center.