CONWAY — The effort was there for Central Arkanas on Tuesday night, but unfortunately for the Sugar Bears the shooting touch was not and Chicago State escaped Conway with a 66-58 victory to deal UCA its first loss in a month.
The Sugar Bears (6-5) shot a season-low 27.3 percent for the game and 20 percent from 3-point range. Junior guard Sidney Stewart, who had a team-high 15 points, was 4-for-10 beyond the arc while the rest of the Sugar Bears combined to shoot just 1-for-15 (6.7 percent).
"I can't stand to get beat," said UCA head coach Matt Daniel. "But I was pleased with the effort tonight. We beat Eastern Kentucky in here but didn't play as hard as we did tonight. We didn't shoot well, particularly the 3, which is not typical. We got shots we wanted, they just didn't fall."
The Cougars (5-7) were more fortunate on the other end, shooting 43.8 percent in the second half and getting shots to drop when they needed them most.
After a 3-pointer from Destinee Rogers put UCA ahead 48-47 with 7:13 to play, CSU scored six unanswered to take a five-point lead with 4:07 left. Following two free throws from Megan Herbert to pull UCA back within three, the Cougars got a pivotal basket when Jazzmyn Harvey knocked down a 3-pointer despite tight defensive pressure from UCA's Nakeia Guiden to extend the lead to six.
Stewart misfired from outside on UCA's ensuing possession, and the Cougars came back with maybe their biggest shot of the game, a tightly-contest shot from Janay Dockery that banked in and gave CSU an eight-point lead with just more than two minutes left.
"Those shots were the difference in the game," Daniel said. "[Harvey] had a career night, and tonight's the first time we've seen her shoot the ball. We hadn't seen her on film. She hits one late with Nakeia in her face, and then [Dockery] banks one in. They hit big shots and we couldn't buy one."
Harvey, who came into the game averaging just 2.5 points, finished with a career-high 12. Dockery had 14, and senior forward Courtney Waldon led the Cougars with a game-high 16.
Waldon scored nine in just 10 minutes in the first half after being forced to the bench with two early fouls. CSU was marred by foul trouble in the opening period, putting the Sugar Bears into the bonus less than four minutes into the game, but was still able to take a 33-32 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Sugar Bears were also hit with foul troubles early on as Herbert was whistled for two in the opening moments and played less than two minutes in the half – recording no points and one rebound. Herbert and Guiden would both eventually foul out late in the game.
After shooting 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) from the line in the first half, the Sugar Bears were only able to hit two of their six attempts in the second half. Conversely, CSU shot 26 and made 17 in the second half after getting just five attempts in the first to finish 21-of-31 (67.7 percent).
Stewart's 15 points led the Sugar Bears, with Herbert chipping in 10. Freshman center Courtney Duever had a career-high 11 rebounds and added eight points in 19 minutes. Stewart and Herbert each had seven rebounds, with Guiden and Westin Taylor adding six. Guiden and Stewart each had three assists and Micah Rice tied a career high with four steals to lead UCA.
Tressa Beckel, named Great West Conference Player of the Week for the third time this season last week, narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars. She also recorded a career-high six blocks.
The Sugar Bears will host Oklahoma Wesleyan at 2 p.m. on Jan. 1 and Ecclesia at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 4 before beginning Southland Conference play at defending league champion Lamar on Jan. 8.
