ADA, Okla. – The East Central University women's basketball team kicked off their 2024-25 home season with a non-conference matchup against Cameron University on Friday night at the Kerr Activities Center. Despite an early lead, the Tigers couldn't hold off a strong third-quarter performance by the Aggies, who rallied to take control of the game and ultimately won 69-59.
 
Cameron opened the scoring, but ECU quickly responded. A layup from Lucia Hervia sparked a 9-0 run, giving the Tigers a 9-2 lead and holding the Aggies scoreless for over five minutes. Cameron made their second field goal at the 3:35 mark, but ECU continued to press, driving the ball to the basket and finishing the first quarter with a 17-10 lead.
 
Katie Edelen started the second quarter with a three-pointer, followed by a layup from Claira Dannefer, extending the Tigers' advantage to 22-10. However, the Aggies found their rhythm from beyond the arc, connecting on three consecutive three-pointers to cut the lead to 25-19 midway through the period. The Tigers responded with jump shots of their own to slow down the Aggies' momentum, eventually rebuilding their lead to as much as 14 points. A late three from Cameron trimmed the lead to 36-25 at the half.
 
Although the Tigers maintained a comfortable advantage to start the third quarter, the Aggies came out firing, particularly from long range. Down 40-27, Cameron made four quick field goals—three of which were three-pointers—along with free throws to erase the deficit and tie the game at 40 with four minutes remaining. A pair of free throws by Eva Fernandez briefly gave ECU back the lead, but Cameron responded with another three-pointer, retaking the lead and never looking back. The Aggies outscored the Tigers 24-10 in the third, taking a 49-46 lead into the final period.
 
A free throw by Peyton Mosley to start the fourth quarter pulled ECU within two, but the Tigers were unable to regain the lead. Cameron extended their advantage with another strong quarter, outscoring ECU 20-13 to seal the 69-59 victory.
 
The key difference in the game came in three-point shooting and free throw accuracy. Cameron finished with a 10-3 advantage from beyond the arc and shot 84% from the free-throw line, compared to ECU's 55.6% shooting from the stripe.
 
Katie Edelen and Eva Fernandez led the offensive charge, with Edelen scoring 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, while Fernandez picked up 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field.
 
The ECU women's basketball team will hit the road next week for their next non-conference game against Rogers State University on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 5:30 pm.