by ADA – The East Central University women’s basketball team returned to the court after 11 days, but fell to Texas A&M-Commerce, 39-61, in non-conference action at the Kerr Activities Center.
The Tigers (1-6, 1-3 GAC) were led by junior Courtney Cowan (Cherokee Nation), who tallied 10 points and a career-high nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. Freshman Tia Williams added eight points and five rebounds. Sophomore Aalyiah Blakely garnered seven points and five boards in her first appearance for ECU after sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer rules.
The opening quarter was a close one, with the Tigers trailing by just three (9-12) after the time was up. The Lions (5-5) opened the stanza on a 7-2 run, but ECU used a 6-1 run over two minutes to take an 8-7 lead, with four minutes left. TAMCU then outscored the Tigers 5-1 in the final minutes of the quarter for the 9-12 advantage.
The second quarter is where the Lions really pulled away, holding ECU scoreless for the first 6:30, while adding 14 points of their own for an 11-26 advantage. ECU fought hard through the final minutes of the half, scoring six points, but went to the locker room trailing 17-31.
In the second half TAMCU kept the pressure up and used several small runs to earn the 39-61 victory.
The Tigers struggled to make shots, hitting just 16.7 percent (10-of-60) of their attempts, while the Lions shot 45.1 percent (23-of-51) from the field.
ECU will now get another long break, as they next hit the court, Wednesday Dec. 30 at noon against Central Oklahoma at the Kerr Activities Center. The game will be the opener for the day as part of the finals of the Bertha Teague Mid America Classic.
