ADA, Okla. – Anissa Pounds tallied 14 points, Danielle Frachiseur added 10, and Cheyenne North grabbed 11 rebounds, but the No. 22 Arkansas Tech Golden Suns basketball team (20-5, 16-5 Great American Conference) was unable to overcome costly turnovers in a 67-55 loss to East Central (13-12, 12-9) on Thursday at the Kerr Center.

NEXT UP
Arkansas Tech will play its final regular-season matchup on Saturday, Feb. 25 at Southeastern Oklahoma. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The two teams traded leads over the opening minutes of the game, with ECU holding a one-point (9-8) lead at the first media timeout (4:33 1^st quarter).
• ECU pushed ahead by three (11-8) just minutes later, but the Golden Suns scored X unanswered points to pull ahead, claiming a 13-11 lead with 3:39 remaining in the quarter.
• A 3-pointer by ECU's Devon Branch quickly swung the lead back to the Tigers, as East Central pulled ahead 14-13 at the 2:34 mark, and pushed the lead to three again (16-13) with just over two minutes to play in the quarter.
• The Tigers carried a three-point (18-15) advantage into the second quarter.
• Taylor Ely buried a 3-pointer from the right wing to knot the game at 18-18 just over 30 seconds into the second quarter.
• Again, the two teams would trade leads through the opening minutes of the second quarter, with ECU using a 3-pointer by Aalyiah Blakley to claim a four-point (26-22) advantage with 5:31 to play in the half – its biggest lead of the game to that point.
• Anissa Pounds hit a 3-pointer with 2:26 to play in the half to pull Tech to within one (26-25), ending a drought of 5:29 without a point for the Golden Suns.
• Calli White hit a 3-pointer on Tech's next possession to give the Golden Suns a two-point (28-26) advantage, Tech's first lead since the 3:39 mark of the first quarter.
• ECU quickly reclaimed the advantage with a 3-pointer of its own, and hit another basket as time expired to claim a 31-28 halftime advantage.
• ECU outpaced the Golden Suns in the opening minutes of the third quarter, opening up a nine-point (39-30) lead three minutes into the half.
• Danielle Frachiseur hit a layup with 4:27 remaining in the third quarter – Tech's first field goal of the second half – to pull Tech to within seven (39-32).
• After the Golden Suns were able to narrow the ECU gap to four (42-39) with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Branch answered again for ECU with a 3-pointer that saw the Tigers' lead stretch to six (45-39) on the next possession.
• The Tigers carried an eight-point (47-39) advantage into the fourth quarter.
• Branch pushed ECU's lead into double figures on the opening possession of the fourth quarter, hitting a jumper with 9:40 to play that gave ECU a 49-39 advantage.
• After the Tigers claimed a 12-point advantage, Cheyenne North buried a 3-pointer from the wing to pull Tech to within nine (54-45) with 6:49 to play.
• The Golden Suns continued to chip away at the ECU lead, using a long 3-pointer by Anissa Pounds to pull to within six (56-50) with 4:16 remaining.
• ECU stretched its lead back into double figures (60-50) with 2:14 to play, but the Golden Suns scored on the very next possession as Cheyenne North hit a layup to pull Tech to within eight (60-52).
• Pounds hit another long 3-pointer with 1:02 to play to pull to within seven points (62-55), but the Golden Suns were unable to close the gap further over the final minute and the Tigers held on for the win.

NOTABLES

• Pounds led Tech with 14 points, while North had a team-best 11 rebounds.
• Tech held a 34-28 rebounding advantage.
• ECU forced 18 Tech turnovers while committing only eight, and the Tigers outpaced the Golden Suns 17-5 on points off turnovers.
• ECU held a 16-14 advantage in points in the paint, and a 7-5 advantage in second-chance points.
• With Harding's 84-72 win over Southeastern Oklahoma, the Golden Suns have clinched the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Great American Conference basketball championships in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Tech will face a to-be-determined No. 7 seed at noon on Thursday, March 2 after Saturday's regular-season finale.