ARKADELPHIA – Madeleine Tipton scored 35 points to lead the Ouachita women's basketball team to an 83-71 win over Southern Arkansas on Thursday night at home.
The win keeps the Tigers (10-15, 8-13 GAC) in contention for a postseason berth into the Great American Conference Championship Tournament, which will be held March 7-10 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The Tigers are now tied with SAU (13-14, 8-13 GAC) for eighth place. The top eight make the tournament.
Tipton finished her career-night 14-for-26 from the field for Ouachita's first 30-point performance since December of 2021.
SAU controlled the first period, including a 11 point lead with two minutes remaining, but the Tigers took over from there, highlighted by a 13-0 run capped by a three-pointer from Tipton at the 8:32 mark of the second period to tie the game at 23-all.
After SAU took a six-point lead into the locker room at halftime, the Tigers went on an 11-2 run to take a six-point lead with 2:29 remaining in the third period. That run produced the last lead change of the contest, as the Tigers outscored the Muleriders by 10 in the final period and led by as much as 13 in the final two minutes.
In addition to Tipton's game-high 35 points,
Grayson Fairless had 15 points.
Joey Babel added game-highs in rebounds with nine and assists with six.
The Tigers shot a season-high 54.5 percent from the field (30-for-55) and had double-digit three-pointers (10-for-22) for fourth time this year.
Immediately following the win, Ouachita recognized its two seniors,
Gracen Williams and
Makenzie Schilmoeller. Schilmoeller nailed a three-pointer in the final seconds of the game to finalize the scoring.
Ouachita closes out the regular season on Saturday, March 1 on the road against Arkansas-Monticello. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.
