RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - Jayana Sanders and Ryann Goodsell both scored 16 points apiece, with Sanders grabbing nine boards and dishing out three assists and Goodsell adding eight boards, while Kaley Shipman turned in an 11-point, six-rebound performance and Lycia Peevy scored 13 points with four boards as the Arkansas Tech Golden Suns basketball team (7-3, 4-2 Great American Conference) took a 71-69 win over East Central (3-9, 1-5) on Saturday inside Tucker Coliseum. 

NEXT UP

• The Golden Suns head west to Oklahoma for a conference swing at Southern Nazarene on Thursday, Jan. 9 and at Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday, Jan. 11. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• East Central claimed an early lead and held the advantage through the opening minutes. The Tigers opened up a five-point (14-9) lead with 5:40 to play in the opening quarter before the Golden Suns used a 10-0 run to claim a five-point (19-14) lead at the 2:45 mark. 
• The Golden Suns pushed the lead out to eight points (24-16) with 1:36 to play before ending the opening quarter with a six-point (24-18) lead. 
• The Tech lead stretched into double digits with 7:35 to play on a Goodsell layup that put the Golden Suns ahead 30-20. 
• Tech led by 13 after a Shipman 3-pointer on the next possession before ECU began to cut into the Tech lead, and the Tigers pulled to within two (35-32) at the 3:32 mark. 
• The Golden Suns carried a seven-point (41-34) lead into the half. 
• East Central outscored Tech 19-14 in the third quarter, tying the game twice in the final minutes of the quarter before a Shipman jumper with 23 seconds remaining gave the Golden Suns a two-point (55-53) advantage going into the fourth quarter. 
• Sarah Heard buried a long 3-pointer on the opening possession of the fourth quarter to push the Tech advantage to five (58-53) before ECU scored six consecutive points to take its first lead since the first quarter at 59-58 with 7:54 to play. 
• The two teams traded leads on subsequent possessions, but a Sanders jumper with 4:20 to play gave the Golden Suns the lead and Tech would not trail again, holding on for the two-point victory.
   

NOTABLES

• Tech outshot ECU 40.3 to 34.4 percent from the floor, and grabbed 22 rebounds to 17 for ECU. 
• ECU outshot Tech 84.0 percent to 73.9 percent from the charity stripe. 
• The Golden Suns held a 30-24 advantage in points in the paint, a 14-4 advantage in second-chance points, and a 22-5 advantage in bench points. ECU held a 12-9 advantage in points off turnovers and an 8-5 advantage in fast-break points. 
• There were seven ties and 11 lead changes.