Harding shoots lights out against ECU women
Jan. 9—SEARCY, Ark. — The East Central University women's basketball team concluded their first Great American Conference Arkansas road series with a tough 87-55 loss to Harding Saturday at Rhodes-Reaves Field House.
Harding improved to 11-1 overall and stayed unbeaten in GAC play at 6-0, while the Tigers slumped to 4-6 and 0-6
East Central was able to keep the game at a manageable distance throughout the first quarter as the Bisons established an eight-point lead at 21-13. But without much success in the second quarter, ECU found themselves trailing 48-21 heading into halftime, facing an uphill battle.
Harding outscored ECU 27-9 in the pivotal second period. The Tigers hit 3-of-11 (27.3%) field goals during that cool stretch while the Bisons were connecting on 8-of-10 field goals, including five 3-pointers.
Coming out of the break, the Tigers continued to try to find some rhythm on offense against a tough Bison defense but were outscored 18-10 in that frame.
ECU found some success in the fourth quarter as the Tigers not only outscored the Bisons (23-21). Despite the effort, the Tigers could not bridge the gap and the Bisons' lead proved insurmountable.
In a challenging offensive outing, ECU went 4-for-14 from beyond the arc and shot 37% (20-54 FG) from the field. In contrast, Harding was able to connect on 12-of-29 3-point attempts.
Mackenzie Crusoe led the Tigers with 11 points, six rebounds, and three steals. Kennedy Cummings and Kayley Alt each contributed 10 points with Cummings shooting 3-for-5 from the field while Alt also recorded six rebounds.
Harding saw five players reach double figures, led by a 20-point outing from Aubrey Isbell.
As the ECU women's basketball team returns to campus on Thursday, hosting Arkansas-Monticello at 5:30 p.m.
Note: Ada News sports editor Jeff Cali contributed to this report.
