The East Central University women’s basketball team closed out their Arkansas road trip with a GAC matchup against Arkansas-Monticello, falling 73-53 to the Cotton Blossoms.
The loss drops ECU to 4-8 overall and 1-7 in conference play.
“We have to find a rhythm in offense and figure out ways to score,” Head Coach Heather Hurt said. “Unfortunately, we continue to have difficulty scoring. I need to put our players in better spots to score, and they need to step up and make shots.”
The Tigers had a 1-0 pre-game lead after a clock violation on the Cotton Blossoms resulted in a technical foul before tip-off. However, once the game got started, UAM opened with a 5-0 run and eventually stretched it to 11-6 with three minutes left in the period. After three made free throws from Mackenzie Crusoe and Emily Wilson, ECU would trail UAM 11-9 at the end of the first quarter.
The Cotton Blossoms came out of the gate hot to start the second quarter as they would hold the Tigers scoreless for nearly five minutes while earning eight straight points of their own to lead 21-9. UAM continued to pull away by outscoring ECU 24-12 to give them a 35-21 lead going into halftime.
In the third quarter, Izzy Cummins opened with a quick three-pointer to get the ECU offense going. The Tigers improved on their third-period shooting, but the Cotton Blossoms still held onto a 20-point lead (58-38) heading into the final quarter of action.
Cummins hit her second three-pointer of the evening at the eight-minute mark and would go on to score 12 of the 15 points for the Tigers in the fourth quarter. Gabby Cummins would hit the last three of the game, but UAM would walk away with the 73-53 win over ECU.
“We had many bright spots, but Monticello’s toughness and physicality took over the game,” said Hurt.”
Izzy Cummins led the Tigers tonight with a season-high 15 points. She went 5-for-11 from the field, including 3-for-8 from the three-point line.
Emily Wilson scored nine points, while Mackenzie Crusoe and Ashlyn Evans-Thompson each had eight points.
The East Central University women’s basketball team will return home to the Kerr Activities Center Thursday, Jan. 19 at 5:30 p.m.
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