Arkadelphia, Ark. - The Ouachita Lady Tigers fell in the opening game of the 2017 Great American Conference Women's Basketball Championships to Arkansas Tech by a final of 69-57. With the loss, the Lady Tigers end their season with an overall record of 12-17. In her final game with the Lady Tigers, Katie Kapler led the team with 13 points. She pulled down five rebounds and had two blocked shots. Chasidee Owens also reached double figures in scoring, finishing with 10. 

For the first 28 minutes of play it looked like the Lady Tigers would open the tournament with an upset of the second-seeded Golden Suns. Ouachita shot 47 percent from the floor in the first half and out rebounded Tech, 23-16. Senior Bria Caldwell opened the game with a deep three-pointer. The Lady Tigers held the lead for the first nine minutes of play. With one minute remaining, Tech hit a three to take and 18-16 lead. The Lady Tigers closed out the opening quarter with a 4-0 run and led 20-18.

Arkansas Tech regained the lead midway through the second quarter, going up 26-24 with just over six minutes remaining. Chasidee Owens hit a jumper to tie the game and then sank a long three with the shot clock expiring to put Ouachita back up three, 29-26. With 1:30 remaining in the second quarter, the Lady Tigers closed out the quarter with an 8-3 run and led 39-31 at halftime. 

Katie Kapler opened the second half with a layup inside to give Ouachita a ten-point lead, their first double-digit lead of the game. Kapler scored the Lady Tigers' first six points of the third quarter. After a small run by the Golden Suns, Alivia Huell's jumper with 4:56 remaining put Ouachita back up six, 47-41. The Lady Tigers would not score again until the 2:38 mark, when Morgan Miller hit a corner three-pointer. Arkansas Tech held the Lady Tigers scoreless for the remainder of the quarter.  

The fourth quarter opened with Ouachita leading 51-45. The Golden Suns started the fourth with an 11-0 run and led 56-51 with 6:58 to play. After a free throw by Owens, Arkansas Tech extended their lead to eight, 60-52. A layup by Madison Brittain at 5:06 mark was the first field goal for the Lady Tigers after a drought of over seven minutes. Down 11, Kapler would score inside and convert her free throw after being fouled to cut the Tech lead to eight, 65-57. Tech scored the final four points of the quarter and the Lady Tigers fell by a final score of 69-57.