Box Score ADA, Okla. – The Ouachita Lady Tigers earned their first Great American Conference win of the season on Saturday, while handing the East Central University Tigers their first conference loss in the 71-59 victory. Katherine West led Ouachita with a career-high 20 points.
 
Ouachita posted a field-goal percentage of 47.9 percent and held East Central (10-3, 6-1 GAC) to only 34.5 percent from the floor. The Lady Tigers also knocked down 50 percent of their three-point attempts, their highest percentage since Feb. 20, 2014.
 
Breanna Harris provided an early spark for Ouachita, as she scored the first eight points for the Lady Tigers. Jasmine Cashaw then got involved with a layup at the 10:57 mark that started a 7-0 run to put Ouachita ahead 20-9. East Central eventually pulled within six, but a 6-0 run that featured three-pointers from West and Katie Kapler gave the Lady Tigers their largest lead of 12 with 3:23 to play in the half.
 
Ouachita maintained its double-digit lead for the rest of the half, and a jumper by Harris with 51 seconds remaining gave the Lady Tigers a 34-22 lead at the break.
 
The Lady Tigers converted on 54.2 percent of their shots from the field, including 57.1 percent on shots from behind the arc. While executing on offense, Ouachita also held ECU to only eight first-half field goals and a shooting percentage of 28.6 percent.
 
West ended the half with a game-high 12 points, and Harris followed with 10. Kapler led the team with five first-half rebounds, while adding eight points.
 
Throughout the second half, the Lady Tigers maintained a comfortable lead and claimed their largest lead of 18 with 11 minutes to play after back-to-back three-pointers from Kori Bullard.
 
With 6:59 to go, Kapler converted on a three-point play to give Ouachita a 60-43 lead. East Central immediately responded, however, with a 15-2 run to pull within four with 1:15 remaining in the contest. Clutch free-throw shooting from Alexis Sharp, West and Bullard prevented ECU from completing the comeback, and Ouachita escaped with the 71-59 win.
 
West added eight points in the second half to finish with a team-high 20. Kapler added 17 points and seven rebounds, while Harris scored 13 and grabbed five boards. Despite not scoring in the first half, Bullard recorded 10 points and eight rebounds for the game.
 
The Lady Tigers committed five more turnovers than ECU, but Ouachita was able to score five more points off turnovers. Ouachita also outscored East Central in the paint, 28-22.
 
The Lady Tigers (5-9, 1-6 GAC) will go their second GAC victory on Thursday, Jan. 15, as they host Southern Nazarene University. The game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.