ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - The Lady Tigers came up short on Saturday, losing to East Central 59-48. Ouachita struggled from the field throughout the game, shooting only 25 percent from the field. 

The Lady Tigers grabbed their first lead of the game with 13:39 left to play in the first half and held the lead until halftime. Twice, Ouachita claimed a lead as large as nine points. The first half came to a close with the Lady Tigers ahead 24-22. OBU only shot 27 percent from the field in the first half, but its 14 bench points, including five from Joy Okeke, helped the Lady Tigers take the lead. 

Okeke and Elise Holman led Ouachita in scoring in the first half with five points each. Holman also grabbed five rebounds and two steals. 

The second half featured four ties and five lead changes. With 12:45 to play, Nashia James nailed a three-pointer to put the Lady Tigers ahead 34-30. East Central responded, however, with a 6-0 run to claim a two-point lead. Another three-pointer, this time coming from Breanna Harris, gave OBU the one-point lead. East Central would immediately take the lead once again and never let the Lady Tigers steal it back until the game ended at 59-48. 

ECU's Alex Tucker led all scorers with 18 points off of 7-12 shooting. Alycea Price recorded 10 points for ECU and a game-high eight boards. 

James led the Lady Tigers with nine points, followed by Holman, Okeke and Ashley Johnson all with seven points each. Holman finished with seven rebounds, as well. 

The Lady Tigers (5-14, 3-10) will travel to Bethany, Okla. on Saturday, February 8, to take on Southern Nazarene at 2:00 p.m.