The win pushed ETBU to 12-8 overall and 7-7 in the ASC East as four players were in double figures. Jaimie Kadlecek led the way with 14 points and three assists hitting three three-pointers. Mary Slaughter finished with 13 points and two blocks while Brandace Latin had 12 points and nine rebounds and Paigen Gilford added 10 points. Amanda Rucker brought down nine rebounds and also gave ETBU four assists with two steals in 23 minutes of play.
Ozarks had ETBU in a bind in the first 10 minutes of the game holding them to just nine points. Kadlecek put ETBU into double digits with a three-pointer at the 10:03 mark cutting the Ozarks lead to seven, 19-12. Ozarks went on a 5-2 run in just 50 seconds putting their lead back at 10, 24-14, before ETBU's offense lit a fire and their defense kicked it up a notch.
In the next nine minutes, ETBU changed the momentum of the game with a 24-4 run to end the half only allowing the Ozarks one bucket with 43 seconds left in the half. Taylor Farmer, who led the team with 23 points, scored all four points with two free throws at the 2:24 mark.
Latin started the run with a three-pointer to bring the lead down to seven at the 8:29 mark and then Patrice Parker made both free throws as the score dropped to 24-19. Parker followed with a jumper 40 seconds later that put ETBU within three, 24-21, and then April Leonard swooshed in a three-pointer to tie the game at 24 with 6:08 left to play.
Kadlecek gave ETBU the lead for good on a layup (5:54) and then 44 seconds later added another three-pointer to extend the lead to five, 29-24. At the 3:35 mark, Slaughter banked in a layup for a seven-point lead as ETBU had scored 17 straight points. Farmer ended the Ozarks scoring drought at the 2:24 mark with two free throws but Latin made the team's third three-pointer in the run to make it 34-26. With 1:50 left in the half, Latin scored her eighth point in the run on a layup for the 10-point lead, 36-26. The final bucket of the half came for ETBU with 58 seconds left as Latin put in her 10th point of the 24 points scored by ETBU as the Tigers took a 12-point lead, 38-26. Farmer then broke the no bucket silence for the Ozarks with 43 seconds left as ETBU took a 10-point lead at the half, 38-28.
The Ozarks started the second half on a 14-10 run to come within six, 48-42, with 15:04 left in the game but that is as close as they would come to ETBU. In the next seven minutes, ETBU went on a 12-2 run to extend their lead to 16, 60-44, as Kadlecek hit her third three-pointer of the day. The lead never fell below 11 points and ETBU had their largest lead of 18, 70-52, with 2:17 left on a Slaughter layup.
ETBU finished shooting 39% from the floor and made 46% of their shots in the first half. The three-pointer fell in 40% of the time and went 6-of-13 in the first half (46%). They also shot 61% from the stripe. Ozarks shot 36% from the floor, 25% from the arc, and 55% from the foul line. ETBU also won the rebounding battle by 20 rebounds, 54-34.
ETBU will host Texas-Dallas in their final home game of the year on Saturday, February 2nd, at 1:00 p.m. in senior day.