ARKADELPHIA – Ouachita women's basketball junior guard Madeleine Tipton nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Tigers a 66-65 victory over Arkansas-Fort Smith on Saturday afternoon in the final game before the Christmas break.

For the first 39 minutes and 59 seconds of Saturday's game, both teams struggled from three-point range. The Tigers were 3-for-17 and the Lions were 4-for-30, but when Ouachita needed it most, Tipton came through to snap a five-game losing skid and send her team into the holiday break on a high note.

Tipton finished with a game-high 24 points to go along with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Brooke Smith had nine points and eight rebounds. Joey Babel led the team in rebounds with nine, and added three assists.

There were eight lead changes and seven tied scores in Saturday's game. The Tigers led for the majority at just under 28 minutes with their largest lead coming midway through the second period following a 14-0 run that resulted in a 35-20 advantage at the 5:26 mark.

UAFS's Morgan Browning hit a three at the end of the second period to put the Tigers up 41-34 at the break. The Lions rallied in the third period to regain the lead for the first time since early in the first period after a 9-2 run in the first few minutes and later ended the third on 10-2 run to go up by six at 55-49 heading into the fourth. That six-point lead was UAFS's largest of the game.

After a 6-0 run for the Tigers to start the fourth, the final 10 minutes were back-and-forth with six lead changes. The Lions went up by two with 52 seconds remaining and looked to put the game away after getting a defensive stop on the other end. A missed three by the Lions and a fight for the rebound set up Tipton's game-winner after a cross-court pass from Heidi Robinson, who led the squad with four assists in the win.

Following the Christmas break, the Tigers will ring in the new year at home on December 31 with an exhibition game against Williams Baptist. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at Vining Arena.