ARKADELPHIA, Ark. - The Lady Tigers'
Kori Bullard scored a season high 19 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists, but the Lady Tigers could not overcome a poor second quarter of shooting, as they fell in their conference home-opener to Southeastern Oklahoma State, 72-66.
Breanna Harris scored 17 and
Katie Kapler added 13 points in the game.
The Lady Tigers came out on fire to open the first quarter, taking a 15-2 lead with 4:31 left to play. The Savage Storm answered with a 14-point run of their own to end the quarter and take a 16-15. Shooting woes plagued the Lady Tigers in the second quarter. they were outscored 20-9 and found themselves trailing 36-24.
Katie Kapler provided the offense for Ouachita in the first half, scoring 11 points on 3-4 shooting from the floor. Bullard had a team-high four assists and five rebounds in the first two quarters of play.
Ouachita's offense opened the third quarter with a 9-2 run to cut into the Southeastern lead. Back-to-back threes by
Breanna Harris and
Alexis Sharp helped cut the deficit to five with 7:33 left in the third quarter. Harris scored nine of the Lady Tigers' 24 third-quarter points and Bullard scored seven. Ouachita entered the fourth quarter trailing Southeastern, 52-48.
Bullard hit her first three shots of the final quarter to tie the game 54-54. After both teams exchanged baskets, Bullard answered a Southeastern three by knocking down one of her own from beyond the arc to keep it tied at 59-59. Three straight baskets by Southeastern put the Lady Tigers down by six with just over thee minutes remaining in the game. A layup by Harris got Ouachita back to within two points of the Savage Storm, but Southeastern hit their free throws down the stretch to come away with the 72-66 win.
Despite tying the game three times in the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers were unable to regain the lead they lost in the first quarter. Ouachita shot 29% in the first half, but came back in the second half to shoot 59% from the floor. Bullard, Harris and Kapler combined to shoot 59% for the game on 20-34 shooting.
The Lady Tigers will host East Central Oklahoma on Saturday, December 5 at Bill Vining Arena. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m.
