ADA – The East Central University women's basketball team fell to Harding in the final regular-season game of the 49-61 at the Kerr Activities Center.  The Tigers (13-12, 19-9 GAC) claimed the No. 5 seed at the 2016-17 GAC Championship Tournament and will face Southeastern in the opening round, Friday, March 4 at noon.

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ECU was led by senior Whitney Stotler, who started the game by singing the National Anthem, with 16 points and four rebounds.  Fellow series Jalyn Jackson tallied four boards and is now just three away from claiming the Tigers Career Rebounding record of 777.

The opening quarter was a back-and-forth battle for control, with the Tigers holding a 19-15 lead at the break.

The Bisons (23-3, 20-1 GAC) came out strong in the second quarter and used a 5-0 run in the first minute to take the lead.  The teams continued to fight, with Harding going on a 6-0 run in the middle of the stanza and ECU following with a 5-0 run to go into the intermission with a 29-31 deficit.

The teams again traded runs in the first six minutes of the third quarter, with the Tigers trailing 33-35, with 4:12 to play in the stanza.  However, the Bisons ended the quarter on a 6-2 run for a 35-41 advantage.

The fourth quarter was all Harding, as they increased the lead to as many as 13 before claiming the 49-61 victory.

The Bisons claimed the win at the free-throw line, going 16-of-22 and only allowing the Tigers to go 3-of-7.