ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita Baptist University women's basketball team concluded its four-game home stand on Saturday with a 70-59 loss to East Central.

The biggest difference of the game was beyond the three-point arc. Ouachita (7-9, 5-7 GAC) connected on just 1-of-17 three-point shots, while ECU (10-5, 7-4 GAC) made 10-of-29). Otherwise, the statistics were similar for both squads. Ouachita shot 36 percent from the field (20-for-55). ECU shot 38 percent (21-for-56).

Ouachita won the opening tip and ran out to a 5-0 lead in the first two minutes. ECU slowly chipped away, and by midway through the first, the game was knotted at its first and only tie of the game at 7-7.

ECU came out of the first period media timeout with a 13-2 run to go up by double-digits in the final minute of the first. Ouachita rallied in the second period, making 8-of-12 shots to trim the deficit down to four with 2:11 remaining before halftime.  ECU held a six-point lead of 35-29 at halftime.

The third period started with ECU getting up by as much as 12 before Ouachita made a run to cut that lead down to five heading into the fourth. Ouachita made just three shots in the fourth period, allowing ECU to hold its largest lead of 13 with four minutes remaining in the contest. ECU ended up outscoring Ouachita 19-13 in the final 10 minutes.

Makayla Miller led Ouachita with 24 points, her fifth 20-point performance of the season. She also led the team in steals with five and tied Aspen Thornton for the team-high in rebounds with six. Thornton finished the game with 15 points.

Ouachita hits the road next week to take on Oklahoma Baptist on January 27 and Southern Nazarene on January 29.