Tweet #theGAC  BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Arkansas Tech advanced to the semifinals of the Great American Conference Women’s Basketball Championships for the sixth-straight year as the Golden Suns edged East Central, 68-64 in Thursday’s opening quarterfinal contest from Bruin Fieldhouse.
 
Arkansas Tech (24-3) jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the opening two minutes only see East Central (10-17) hold the Golden Suns to just four points over the following 12 minutes. The Tigers held brief leads of 13-12, 16-14 and 19-18 but the Golden Suns entered intermission with a 27-22 advantage.
 
In the third quarter alone, the Tigers more than doubled their offensive production as they outscored the Golden Suns 24-20 to pull to within one point. Tech maintained small leads throughout the fourth quarter. ECU’s best chance to even the contest came in the final two minutes when Alexa Adair made her fourth 3-pointer to cut the Tech lead to 60-57 then came down with a chance to tie, but Adair’s next 3-point try rimmed out. Cheyenne North grabbed the rebound, passed ahead to Kylie Ladd who found Jacie Higgins for a lay-up and a foul. Down the stretch, the Ladd went 4-for-4 from the line to seal the win.
 
The Golden Suns responded every time the Tigers took the lead. Four times over the course of the contest, ECU grabbed a lead. On each of the subsequent Tech possessions, they scored to either tie the score or retake the lead.
 
North, with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Lyrik Williams with 13 points and 11 rebounds, recorded double-doubles. Ladd went 11-for-11 from the free-throw line. As a team, the Golden Suns went 26-for-30 from the free-throw line.
 
Adair made four of ECU’s 11 3-pointers in scoring 12 points before fouling out. Tia Williams went a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor, including 4-for-4 from the 3-point arc, and tallied a game-high 18.
 
The Golden Suns face the winner of the Henderson State-Ouachita contest at 5:45 PM on Saturday. During the regular season, they split with the Reddies and won twice against the Tigers.