ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The East Central University women's basketball team opened Great American Conference play on the road Thursday night, taking on Ouachita Baptist University. Despite entering the matchup with strong momentum and an undefeated 4–0 start, the Tigers stumbled, falling 76–52.
 
ECU will look to regroup quickly as they continue GAC play on Saturday, facing Henderson State University at 1:00 p.m.
 
The first quarter featured steady back-and-forth action. A layup from Makenzy Herman and a three-pointer by Katie Edelen gave ECU an early 6–3 edge, but Ouachita responded with a 7–0 run to go ahead 10–6. Herman knocked down another three to pull ECU within one, though the purple Tigers countered with a second 7–0 surge to extend their lead to 17–9. ECU battled back with threes from Jayden Weiberg and Edelen to close the gap to 19–16, but back-to-back jumpers by Ouachita pushed the deficit to 23–17 after the opening quarter.
 
Ouachita seized firm control in the second period, outscoring ECU 20–11 to take a 43–27 lead at halftime.
 
The Tigers came out of the break with renewed defensive pressure, holding Ouachita to its lowest-scoring quarter of the night at just a 14–13 margin. However, without a sustained offensive run, ECU still trailed 57–40 entering the fourth.
 
Ouachita continued to build separation in the final frame, stretching the lead to as many as 29 points before closing out the game 76–52 for its first GAC victory.
 
The purple Tigers controlled the paint with a dominant 40–12 scoring advantage and also won the rebounding battle 35–28.
 
Edelen led ECU with a season-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting while also pulling down a team-best six rebounds. Herman followed with eight points on a 3-of-4 outing, and Eva Fernandez added seven points.