MONTICELLO, ARK. – The East Central University women's basketball team overcame an 11-point deficit at the half to earn a 70-66 victory over Arkansas-Monticello in Great American Conference action.

The Tigers (3-3, 3-1 GAC) were paced by senior Devon Branch, who tallied 25 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and a steal.  Freshman Madison Rehl added 14 points, eight boards, five assists and a block.

While the overall and three-point shooting for each team was close to even, ECU earned the win on the back of a 17-of-20 mark at the charity stripe.  The Tigers also held the Blossoms (4-4, 1-3 GAC) to a 9-of-13 mark.

UAM started the game on a 10-2 run in the opening five minutes.  ECU was able to fight back to cut the deficit to five by the end of the first quarter (18-13).

The Blossoms again had a strong start to the second quarter, going on a 10-3 run to push the lead back to 10 (28-18) in the first four minutes.  The teams traded shots the rest of the half, with the Tigers heading into the intermission trailing, 39-28.

The third quarter is where ECU really made its move, outscoring UAM 17-5 to take a 45-44 lead.  The Blossoms hit the first shot of the half, but the Tigers then went on a 13-0 run over the next five minutes.  Neither team scored for a three-minute span, but after the stalemate was broke, ECU added a 4-2 run to end the quarter.

The Tigers continued that until the half way mark of the final 10 minutes, going on a 17-5 run to push the lead out to 10 (57-47).  UAM did not give up and was able to cut the disadvantage to four (61-57), with a minute left to play.  However, ECU held on making 9-of-10 free throws in the final minute to earn the 70-66 victory.

The Tigers will now have a week off for finals, before hosting Rogers State, Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 4 p.m. at the Kerr Activities Center.