ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Reddies faced the East Central Tigers today, defeating them 73-66.

The Reddies (6-0, 2-0) were led tonight by Grayson Fairless, who scored 17 points, shooting 54.5 percent from the floor, and was perfect at the free-throw line. Brynlee Huggins and Riley Samples each added 13 points while Natalie Cardenas added 12. Fairless continues to put up rebounds, as she added 11 tonight for her third double-double of the season, while Samples provided six. Huggins provided three assists tonight, while Samples added two.

Game Recap
The Reddies got out to a fast start, as Samples sunk two threes to take a 6-0 lead. Seven points by Huggins extended the lead to 13-2 with six minutes left. East Central attempted to rally, using eight unanswered points to bring the score to 18-15 with one minute left in the quarter. Huggins sunk a jumper to prevent a tie, with the Reddies holding a 20-18 lead going into the second. The Reddies shot 70.0 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from beyond the arc in the first quarter.

East Central brought the pressure in the second quarter, scoring 10 unanswered points to capture the lead 28-22. While a three by Jayla Lewis shrunk the lead to 33-29, East Central held off any comeback by the Reddies and held a 38-34 lead going into the half. The Reddies shot only 35.3 percent from the field during the second quarter.

The third quarter began with the Reddies putting up five points to take a one-point lead. Another three by Lewis extended the lead to 44-41 and four more gave the Reddies a 48-41 lead with three minutes left in the quarter. The Reddie defense held East Central to only five more points in the quarter, as they held a lead 50-46 going into the final quarter, shooting 35.7 percent from the field and 100.0 percent from three.

In the final quarter, the Tigers attempted to tie the score, but a Fairless layup ended the run. Four more points extended the Reddie lead to 56-51. Both teams went back and forth, with East Central recapturing the lead 60-59 with 3:47 left in the game. Cardenas rattled off five quick points to recapture the lead for the Reddies 66-62, and they coasted to victory, winning 73-66.

Up Next –
Women's Basketball host the Golden Suns of Arkansas Tech in the last home contest of the year, Thursday, December 11th at 5:30 PM in the Duke Wells Center.