BARTLESVILLE, OKLA. – The No. 7 seed East Central University women's basketball team 2017-18 season came to an end and a tight battle with No. 2 Arkansas Tech in the 2017-18 Great American Conference Championship quarterfinals in Bruin Fieldhouse.

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The Tigers (10-17, 9-13 GAC) were paced by junior Tia Williams, who tied her career-high of 18 points that she set just two games earlier against Northwestern.  Senior Alexa Adair added 12 points and three rebounds, while fellow senior Devon Branch netted 10 points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal.

The Golden Suns (24-3, 19-3 GAC) took control of the game early, going on an 8-0 run through the first 2:30 minutes.  The Tigers then got back on track, using a 7-0 run of their own to cut the deficit to one over the next three minutes.  The scoring slowed a little in the final four minutes of the quarter, with ATU holding a 12-7 advantage.

ECU netted the first six points of the second quarter to tie the game at 12 (8:06) and take a 13-12 lead, with six minutes left in the half.  The teams then traded shots to toggle the lead back-and-forth until things were knotted at 22, with 2:15 left on the clock.  That is when the Golden Suns used a 5-0 run to earn a 27-22 lead at the half.

The Tigers cut the lead to two (27-25) in the first minute of the second half and then tied the game at 31 in the first 1:30. The teams then traded the next two triples before ATU started an 8-2 run to push out to a 42-36 lead, with three minutes left in the stanza. 

ECU fought back within one (42-41) in the next two minutes and then tied the score at 44, with just under a minute to play.  All told, the Tigers finished the final three minutes of the quarter on a 10-5 run to trail by just one (47-46).

The Golden Suns jumped out to a 52-46 lead in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter.  ECU kept the deficit within two possessions for most of the stanza.  In the final minute of the game the Tigers made a final push and cut the deficit to two (64-62), after hitting key free throws, with 18 seconds left.

ATU then made key free throws of their own to push the advantage back to four just one second later.  Sophomore Madison Nickens was able to get a put-back on her own shot, with 7.5 seconds left, to again cut the lead to two. 
ECU was forced to foul to get the chance for one more shot, but the Golden Suns made both free throws to push things back to a two possession game and claim the 68-64 victory.

The game was the last for Tiger seniors Alexa Adair, Aaliyah Blakley and Devon Branch.  Branch finishes her career ranked No. 3 in the ECU career charts for three-point shots made (238), fifth in three's attempted (406), sixth in free-throw percentage (.838) and eighth in points per game (14.4).

Adair will be ranked No. 2 in the Tigers career charts for three's attempted (477), fourth in triples made (134) and fifth in free-throw percentage (.816).

Blakley finished with 503 points, 427 rebounds, 82 assists, nine blocks and 53 assists.