ARKADELPHIA – In the final home Saturday game of the season, the Ouachita women's basketball team fell just short to Arkansas Tech in a 66-63 loss to the Golden Suns inside Bill Vining Arena.
The events of the day began in the morning with the Ouachita women's basketball alumni gathering for the dedication of a new wall display in the lobby of Vining Arena honoring the history and achievements of the program.
Saturday's game was similar to many other Great American Conference games this season, back-and-forth, with a total of eight lead changes and seven tied scores. The biggest lead for the Tigers (9-13, 7-11 GAC) came midway through the third period at 39-33. The Golden Suns (11-11, 8-10 GAC) controlled for the majority of the rest of the third period and into the fourth period to build their largest lead of 62-52 with 2:04 remaining in regulation.
Down 10, the Tigers rallied for an 8-0 run to trim the deficit down to two with 33 seconds remaining.
Laney Mears nailed a three-pointer with 11 seconds remaining to make it a one-point game, but the Suns made a pair of free throws on the other end to finalize the scoring.
Madeleine Tipton led the Tigers with 16 points.
Grayson Fairless added 14 points and eight rebounds. Mears finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and four steals.
Joey Babel led three different categories for the Tigers with career-highs in rebounds (11) and steals (7) to go along with four assists.
The Tigers hit the road next week to take on Southeastern Oklahoma state on Thursday, February 22 and East Central on Saturday.
