NATCHITOCHES, La. — Central Arkansas utilized stifling defense and a trio of big runs – one to take the lead, one to take over and one to take care of Northwestern State as the Sugar Bears outscored the Lady Demons 43-19 in the second half en route to a convincing 70-52 win at Prather Coliseum on Saturday.
The Sugar Bears shot 61.5 percent in the second half, held the Lady Demons to 30 percent, forced 11 turnovers and had nine steals in the decisive period.
"That was a championship half of basketball," said UCA head coach Matt Daniel. "We were defensively locked in and that was the difference. We had too many turnovers and not enough field goals in the first half; but in the second half we were knocking down shots, guarding, and were a better basketball team."
After trailing 33-27 at the half, the Sugar Bears (10-6, 2-1 Southland) started the second period with an 11-0 run to take their first lead since the first five minutes of the game. Megan Herbert, who led all players with 19 points and 13 rebounds, scored the first four points of the half with an open layup off an assist from Micah Rice and a baseline jumper. Destinee Rogers followed with a free throw and then Rice and Westin Taylor hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Sugar Bears ahead 38-33.
The Lady Demons (7-9, 2-1) scored the next seven and went on an 11-2 run to go ahead 44-40 with 11:23 to play. The Sugar Bears answered right back by scoring the next 15 points – including seven straight from freshman center Courtney Duever – to take control of the game.
After Duever connected on a three-point play and two layups, Herbert followed with a 3-pointer, Duever scored inside and Rice knocked one down from beyond the arc to put the Sugar Bears ahead 55-44 with 7:15 to play.
NSU drew no closer than nine, and UCA closed it out by outscoring the Lady Demons 13-4 in the last 3:45 to seal the Sugar Bears' third straight win over NSU.
Throughout the half the Sugar Bears benefited from the play of junior guard Nakeia Guiden, who had five second-half steals, drew several fouls and finished the game with 16 points, five assists and tied career highs with eight rebounds and five steals.
"When we're locked in defensively it leads to easy baskets and we're pretty good," Daniel said. "Courtney (Duever) and Desiree' (Rogers) helped tremendously with their defense, helped us get stops and allowed us to push the tempo which led to buckets. And Nakeia gets to the line 14 times, and that gives us a shot every time."
The Lady Demons kept the Sugar Bears from getting into an offensive rhythm in the first half by forcing 15 turnovers, virtually matching UCA's season average of 15.3 per game. The Sugar Bears made just nine field goals, and were held to only two in the half's final six minutes as NSU built its largest lead at 29-21 with 3:21 to go. The Sugar Bears were able to hang around thanks to Guiden scoring seven of her nine first-half points in the final 4:25, with five coming at the free throw line.
The Lady Demons got 10 – all in the first half – from Meredith Graf – averaging only 6.8 points per game – who shot 4-of-6 from the field including two three-pointers.
"At halftime, I told the girls we were in great shape," Daniel said. "We turned it over 15 times, they shot lights out and we're down six on the road. I told them we're in great shape if we just take care of the ball, lock in defensively and push it. We did that and came away with a good win."
Herbert had her 11th double-double of the season, including one in each of the Sugar Bears' three Southland games. Rice had 13 and has scored 16.7 points per game over the last three games.
The Lady Demons were led by Jordan James' 14, Brittiany Houston's 11 and Graf's 10. Trudy Armstead, the Lady Demons' leading scorer for the season at 11.3, was held to six.
UCA has now won its last three over NSU and has won the last two in Prather Coliseum. Last season the Sugar Bears had another big second half to come away with a 53-48 win. UCA has outscored NSU 74-33 in the second half in the last two meetings in Natchitoches.
The Sugar Bears, who are off to their best start in their five seasons in the Southland, return home for their next two games – hosting Nicholls Wednesday night before a rematch with Lamar on Saturday.
"It's going to be a grind every night," Daniel said of the league slate. "It's a good week for us being at home twice and hopefully we can take advantage, but there is no night off. The league is so solid and has gotten so much better of the last couple years. It's going to be a battle to the end."
