ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita women's basketball team edged Emporia State 69-68 on Thursday night at home to wrap up day one of the GAC/MIAA Challenge.
Central Oklahoma defeated Henderson State 72-51 in the first game of the day. HSU and ESU play on Friday at noon. Ouachita and UCO wrap up the challenge Friday at 2 p.m.
The Hornets (0-1) came out on fire on Thursday night, scoring the game's first eight points before the Tigers began chipping away. ESU held at least a five-point lead in the first five minutes before Ouachita closed out the period on an 11-0 run to lead 18-14 heading into the second.
Ouachita (1-1) led for all but one possession in the second period. Bree Hubbard nailed a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining to give the Tigers their largest lead of the first half at 37-28 heading into the break.
The Tigers stretched their lead to double-digits in the third period on a layup by Hubbard at the 5:44 mark to put her team up 43-33. Ouachita led by as much as 13 in the period.
ESU made a run deep in the third period to trim the Ouachita lead down to five. A layup by Kayden Porter at the buzzer gave the Tigers a 52-45 lead heading into the final frame.
The Hornets outscored the Tigers 23-17 in the fourth period to keep the game close down the stretch. ESU cut its deficit down to two with 1:39 remaining, but Ouachita answered with a layup from Hubbard and a free throw by Brooklyn Mitchell to get back up by five with under a minute remaining. That proved to be critical as Ouachita missed four free throws in the final 20 seconds to allow ESU to make it a one-point game at the end.
Hubbard finished with a game-high 22 points to mark her first collegiate game with at least 20. She was 8-for-10 from the field and 5-for-5 on free throws to go along with seven rebounds. Brooklyn Mitchell matched Hubbard's team-high seven rebounds and added 13 points in the win. Kayden Porter and Aubrey Henderson also reached double-digits in scoring.
