BARTLESVILLE, OKLA. – The No. 5 East Central University women's basketball team saw its season come to an end the in the semifinals of the Great American Conference Championship Tournament, with a 48-67 loss to No. 1 Harding.

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The Tigers (14-14) were paced by senior Jalyn Jackson, who garnered 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.  The Edmond, Okla., native finishes as the ECU Career Rebounder (787) and No. 3 in the career blocks list (94).

The Tigers other senior, Whitney Stotler, tallied four points, a rebound and an assist in her final game.

Junior Devon Branch finished the game with 11 points and two assists, with three of her four shots coming from beyond the arc.  That gave her 81 triples for the season, ranking her No. 2 on the individual season charts for three-point shots made.

The Bisions (26-3) came out on a hot streak, taking a 2-10 advantage in the first three minutes before ECU was able to score a field goal.  The Tigers didn't give up the fight and cut the lead to two (11-13), over the next two minutes.  However, Harding followed with a 7-0 run to get the lead back to nine and finished the stanza with a 16-23 lead.

The teams traded 5-0 runs in the first four minutes of the stanza, but that is when the Tigers started a big push.  ECU cut the deficit to two (28-30) over the next 5:30.  However, in the final 25 seconds, the Bisons made four free throws to earn the 28-34 lead at the break.

The third quarter is when Harding took control, scoring 20 points and allowing the Tigers to score just seven for a 35-54 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

The Bisons kept the advantage around 20-or-more the final 10 minutes of play, eventually claiming the 48-67 victory.

This was the sixth-straight trip to the GAC Championship Tournament ECU and the fourth trip to the semifinals since joining the league six years ago.  The Tigers have the second most trips to the GAC semifinals, with only Harding and Arkansas Tech making it five times each.