ADA – The East Central University women's basketball team dropped a key game in Great American Conference action to Northwestern Oklahoma State, 76-71, at the Kerr Activities Center.  The Tigers are now in a four-way tie with Oklahoma Baptist, NWOSU and Southern Arkansas for seventh in the GAC standings.

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The Tigers (9-16, 8-13 GAC) were paced by junior Tia Williams, who tallied 18 points, two rebounds, four assists and two blocks.  Senior Devon Branch added 10 points and senior Aaliyah Blakley netted nine points and nine boards.

ECU started the game strong, going on a 9-4 run in the first two minutes.  The Rangers (12-15, 8-14 GAC) cut the lead to one (9-8) over the next two minutes, but the Tigers finished the stanza on a 14-2 run to lead 23-10.

ECU pushed the lead to 27-11 in the first four minutes of the second quarter.  The Tigers kept the lead around 14 points through the first six minutes, before NWOSU was able to cut the lead to nine (32-23), with two minutes left in the half.  ECU finished the stanza on a 7-5 run to lead 39-28.

The second half started out close, with the Tigers pushing the lead back to 14 (47-33) in the first three minutes.  That is when the Rangers started their come-back, using a 19-10 run to cut the deficit to three-(57-54), with 36 seconds left in the quarter, before ECU took a 59-54 lead into the final stanza.

The Tigers pushed back at the start of the third, regaining a six-point advantage, with 8:30 minutes left to play.  NWOSU followed with a 10-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 67-65 lead.  The teams kept things close, with ties at 67 and 69 in the final minutes of the quarter. 

However, after things were tied at 69, the Rangers used a 7-2 run in the final two minutes to claim the 76-71 victory.

The Tigers will have a short turn-around before playing Oklahoma Baptist in the final regular-season game of the 2017-18 season, Saturday, Feb. 24 at 5:30 p.m. in the Kerr Activities Center.  Saturday's games across the GAC for the day will determine the final three teams (out of six) that will advance to the GAC Championship tournament, March 1-4 in Bartlesville, Okla.

Saturday's game will also be the annual Senior Day, with the Tigers honoring seniors Alexa Adair, Aaliyah Blakley and Devon Branch between the men's and women's games.