Alva Review-Courier -

BETHANY, OKLA. – The East Central University women's basketball team moved back into a tie for eighth in the Great American Conference standings after defeating Southern Nazarene 69-57 on the road. Eight teams will make the G-AC Tournament, with just four games left in the regular-season.

The Tigers (8-14, 7-11 GAC) were led by senior Aaliyah Blakley, who garnered her fourth career double-double and the second-straight, with 12 points and 11 rebounds. She was one of five players to score in double-digits, with junior Lakin Preisner leading the group with 16 points and adding nine rebounds, two assists and five steals.

ECU started the game on a 5-0 run in the first three minutes. The Crimson Storm (7-15, 5-13 GAC) used a few small runs through the stanza to tie the game at 13 (1:35) and the teams went into the second quarter tied at 15.

The second quarter was a back-and-forth battle, with no team leading by more than four and long stretches without either team scoring. The Tigers hit the final shot of the quarter, when Blakley sank a three with 38 seconds left to give ECU a 32-28 lead.

The Tigers started the second half on a hot streak, using a 9-3 run in the first 4:30 minutes to take a 41-31 advantage. SNU countered with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to four (41-37) over the next 1:30 minutes. ECU pushed back in the remaining time and took a 51-42 lead into the final stanza.

The Tigers kept the pressure turned up in the fourth quarter, pushing the lead to as many as 19 on the way to a 69-57 victory.

ECU will now return home for the annual Pink Out! game, Saturday, Feb. 17 at 1 p.m. against No. 5/7 Southwestern Oklahoma State at the Kerr Activities Center.