ALVA, Okla. – The East Central University women's basketball team came back from a 14-point deficit in the first quarter to claim a 67-56 road victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State in Great American Conference action.
The Tigers (11-12, 10-9 GAC) moved its winning streak to five games with the win and is one step closer to securing a spot in the 2016-17 GAC Championship tournament, March 3-6 in Bartlesville, Okla.

ECU was led by senior Whitney Stotler, who tallied 18 points and eight rebounds.  Junior Devon Branch added 15 points and five boards, while freshman Madison Nickens netted 10 points and two rebounds.

ECU struggled to get going, falling behind 2-14 in the first 5:30 minutes of the game.  The Rangers (7-18, 6-13 GAC) kept pushing the tempo and had the lead out to as many as 14 on the way to an 8-20 lead after the first 10 minutes.

The Tigers came roaring back in the second quarter, cutting the deficit to just three (19-22), with 6:32 left to play.  The Rangers countered with a 7-2 run to increase the advantage back to eight (21-29).  ECU kept fighting and used an 8-0 run to tie the game at 29 (2:53).  The teams traded the final shots of the half, with the score knotted at 33.

The teams traded the first two shots in the second half before ECU pulled ahead.  The Tigers went on a 4-0 run over a two-minute span.  ECU kept up the pressure and increased the lead to as many as ten in the quarter and finished it was a 51-44 lead.

The Tigers kept the advantage between 7-10 points for most of the final quarter on the way to the 67-56 victory.

ECU fought back from a first quarter shooting slump to make 49 percent (24-of-49) of their overall shots and allowing NWOSU to hit at just a 32.1 percentage (17-of-53).

The Tigers will now come home to the Kerr Activities Center for the final three games of the regular season.  The home stand starts, Saturday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. against Southern Nazarene.