ADA – The East Central University women's basketball team secured its trip to the 2016-17 Great American Conference Championship Tournament with a 71-69 victory over Southern Nazarene.
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The Tigers (12-12, 11-9 GAC) earned the win on a buzzer beating shot from sophomore
Tia Williams, who finished with nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior
Devon Branch led ECU with 21 points and seven rebounds, while seniors
Whitney Stotler netted 14 points and
Jalyn Jackson 12.
The teams battled back-and-forth through the first 4:30 of the game, before the Tigers were able to gain an advantage. ECU used an 8-0 run over the next three minutes for a 17-9 lead. The teams traded points again through the rest of the stanza, with the Tigers holding a 19-14 advantage.
The battle continued into the second quarter, before ECU again used a 7-0 run to gain a 33-22 lead, with 6:25 left to play. The Crimson Storm (11-12, 8-11 GAC) battled back to cut the lead to two (33-31) over the next three minutes. The teams again traded shots the rest of the half, with ECU holding a 38-26 advantage heading into the intermission.
It was the same at the start of the third quarter, with the teams being knotted at 40, with 8:30 left in the stanza. That is when SNU took control with a 7-0 run over the next two minutes. ECU countered with a 16-4 to end the third quarter with a 56-51 advantage.
The teams played tight through most of the final stanza, but the Tigers held the lead. With just under three minutes left to play the Crimson Storm fought back and used a few runs to tie the game at 69, with 15 seconds left to play. ECU had the ball for the final possession and Williams hit a buzzer beater from the left corner to claim the 71-69 victory.
The Tigers strong shooting from three-point range helped claimed the win. ECU shot 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from beyond the arc and 42.6 percent overall (26-of-61). The difference of 13 to four made threes by SNU, was important as the Crimson Storm went 23-of-27 from the charity stripe and only allowed the Tigers to make 13 trips (six makes).
ECU will wrap up the regular season at home, with games set for Thursday, Feb. 23 against Arkansas Tech (5:30 p.m.) and Saturday, Feb. 25 against Harding (1 p.m.) in the Kerr Activities Center.
