ARKADELPHIA, ARK. – The East Central University women's basketball team ran took an early lead and never let it go, claiming a 75-40 victory over the "other" Tigers from the Great American Conference, at Ouachita Baptist.
Scoring
- First Quarter: 24-17
- Ouachita (7-20, 5-16 GAC) scored the first points of the game at 9:51
- ECU followed with a 6-0 run over the next 2 minutes
- Ouachita countered with an 8-0 run over the next 1:30 to lead 10-6
- The Tigers (20-7, 15-6 GAC) then regained the lead with n 7-0, with six minutes left
- The score remained close until the final 2:13, with ECU leading 18-17
- The Tigers finished the stanza on a 6-0 run
- Second Quarter: 17-8 (41-25)
- In the first 3:30 minute ECU added a 9-2 run for a 33-19 advantage
- Ouachita came back with a 6-0 run in the next two minutes
- The Tigers then took control going on a 9-0 in the final five minutes
- Third Quarter: 21-10 (62-35)
- ECU kept up the pressure and kept increasing the lead throughout the quarter
- The Tigers held Ouachita under 10 points in the stanza until the last three minutes
- Led by 27 at the end of the stanza, the largest lead of the game so far
- Fourth Quarter: 13-5
- ECU did not let up and held Ouachita to just two points through the first eight minutes
- Increased the largest lead to 38
Tiger Quick Shots
- The Tigers saw double-digit point totals from three players
- All 11 players to see action scoffed at least one point and all but one earned a rebound
- The win gave ECU the second 20-win season in the NCAA era
- 20-8 (1998-99) / 20-11 (1997-98)
- The Tigers 20-7 record ties them for third in the most wins in a season list
- No. 1: 30-5 (1995-96)
- No. 2: 23-10 (1982-83)
- ECU has had 15-or-more wins in just four seasons as an NCAA member and 13 overall
- The Tigers shots 35.4% (23-of-65) and held Ouachita to 26.3% (15-of-57)
- 3PT: ECU 39.1 (8-of-21) / OUA 11.5 (3-of-26)
- Key difference also came at the free-throw line
- ECU 84.0% (21-of-25) / OUA 58.3% (7-of-12)
- ECU also earned a big lead on the glass: 52-34
- Offensive Rebounds: ECU 13 / OUA 5
- The Tigers led all but 1:20 seconds of the game
Up Next
- The Tigers will wrap up the regular season, Saturday, March 2
- vs. Henderson State – 1 p.m.
- ECU will then get ready for the GAC Championship Tournament
- March 7-10 in Bartlesville, Okla.
- Seeding will be decided after Saturday's games are complete across the league
- Eighth-straight trip for the Tigers women's basketball team
- The ECU men's basketball team has advanced to the tournament for six-straight seasons
- Makes it the longest streak in the league to have both teams advance
- Next longest streak is two by Southeastern Oklahoma State
