ARKADELPHIA — The Ouachita women's basketball team overwhelmed East Central wire-to-wire in a dominant 76-52 victory Thursday inside Bill Vining Arena.
The Tigers (4-1, 1-0 GAC) imposed their will to hand East Central (4-1, 0-1 GAC) its first loss in the Great American Conference opener. Ouachita outscored ECU 40-12 inside the paint to earn its fourth straight win.
Senior forward
Abbey Harrison powered the offense, leading the Tigers with 16 points and five rebounds. Harrison posted up in the lane and used a spin move to give the Tigers their first lead, which they never relinquished.
Ouachita set the tone with separate 7-0 scoring runs in the first quarter to take a 23-16 lead. The Tigers connected on 10 of their first 15 shots and never let the visitors back within striking distance at any point during the final three frames.
After East Central cut the deficit to 19-16 late in the first quarter, Ouachita went on a 13-0 scoring run over the next six minutes. A pair of Ouachita's sophomore guards kept the run alive as
Ruby Trammell raced down court for a chase down block, then
Kayden Porter drove inside and finished at the rim through contact for an old-fashioned three-point play.
The Tigers stretched the lead to 43-27 after senior forward
Audri Winfrey scored twice in the final 30 seconds of the first half. Winfrey intercepted a pass and finished a fast break layup, then beat the buzzer on the following possession with a putback inside the paint.
The dominance only grew after the break as Harrison continued to punish defenders underneath, scoring consecutive buckets from close range to increase the lead to 18. Winfrey scored 12 points and buried a corner three as Ouachita carried a 57-40 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The Tiger shooters took over in the final frame as Trammell and senior guard
Samantha Watson knocked down consecutive threes. Moments later, Trammell splashed another shot from beyond the arc to give the Tigers a 29-point lead, the largest lead of the night.
Ouachita finished 26-for-50 shooting from the floor and 5-for-12 from deep, while its bench outscored ECU 33-18. Senior guard
Madeleine Tipton, the Great American Conference Player of the Week, scored six points from the free throw stripe, while contributing four rebounds and four assists.
Ouachita hosts Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday inside Bill Vining Arena, with tipoff set at 1 p.m.
