SHAWNEE, Okla. – The East Central University women's basketball team battled Oklahoma Baptist University in their final GAC regular-season matchup on Saturday. Despite a strong performance, the Tigers were undone by a late fourth-quarter surge from the Bison, who reclaimed the lead to secure a 61-55 victory.
Although the loss ended the regular season, ECU's campaign is far from over. The Tigers earned the final spot in the Great American Conference Tournament Championships, where they will face top-seeded Southern Nazarene on Thursday, March 6, at 5:45 p.m. in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
OBU took an early 17-11 lead after the first quarter, but the Tigers responded powerfully in the second. After the Bison added two free throws to extend their lead to 19, ECU held them to just two points and no field goals in the rest of the period.
Kayley Alt's three-pointer sparked the run,
Chloe Malone's layup gave the Tigers the lead again, and a three-pointer from
Katie Edelen capped off the half, putting ECU ahead 25-19.
The Tigers pushed their lead to as much as 12 points in the third quarter, thanks to a layup by Fernandez, making it 37-25. OBU found their rhythm in the third, but ECU still managed to maintain a 44-36 advantage heading into the final frame.
In the fourth, the Bison hit their stride, opening with a 10-point scoring run to reclaim the lead, 46-45, midway through the quarter. Fernandez's layup briefly put ECU back on top, but OBU answered with a three-pointer to take the lead for good. The Bison outscored the Tigers 25-11 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Although ECU shot slightly better from the field (32.1% to 30.6%), OBU's 11 three-pointers and 39 bench points helped fuel their comeback victory.
Katie Edelen led the Tigers with 18 points, including a 2-for-5 performance from beyond the arc and a perfect 6-for-6 effort at the free-throw line.
Peyton Mosley recorded her first double-double of the season, contributing 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Chloe Malone also reached double digits with 11 points.
