CONWAY — At the end of a grueling double-overtime slugfest between Southland Conference leaders Central Arkansas and McNeese State, the Sugar Bears escaped with the win thanks to one made free throw.
A McNeese State free throw.
Her team down three with 1.8 second left, McNeese guard Caitlyn Baggett stepped to the line for a pair after the Sugar Bears opted to foul late to prevent a 3-point shot attempt by the Cowgirls, who had hit 11 in the game. Baggett nailed the first, then attempted to miss the second for a shot at an offensive rebound and a score to tie or win. Instead, the second shot went through the net and the Sugar Bears were able to inbound the ball to Destinee Rogers and run out the clock to deal the Cowgirls their first conference loss of the season, winning 71-70 in two overtimes in front of 2,312 at the Farris Center.
Megan Herbert, who hit what would ultimately be the game-winning free throws with 6.8 seconds left, had a season-high 32 points and 15 rebounds for her 56th career double-double and became the eighth player in Sugar Bear history to eclipse the 1,500-point mark.
"That's as good a college basketball game, men or women, I've been a part of," said UCA head coach Matt Daniel. "That's an environment that was phenomenal. They're a really good team, and I thought we did a great job with our execution. We hit free throws when we had to, and apparently got one stop when we needed it. I'm proud of our kids and happy for them."
The Sugar Bears (16-4, 6-1 Southland) remain perfect in 12 home games this season and move into a tie with the Cowgirls (16-5, 6-1) for the top spot in the league standings.
But it wasn't without a major fight.
With UCA leading four with 21.5 seconds left after a Rogers free throw, McNeese countered with a 3-pointer from Baggett with 14.4 seconds left to make it 69-68. After attempting a steal, the Cowgirls fouled Megan Herbert with 6.8 seconds to play, sending her to the line for two free throws.
Herbert, who was 10-for-11 at the line in the game, sank them both to give UCA a three-point cushion. The Sugar Bears then opted to foul once McNeese got the ball across halfcourt, given that the Cowgirls had hit 8 of 18 (44.4 percent) from beyond the arc in the second half and overtime periods – many from several steps behind the line.
The strategy paid off as Baggett hit them both and the Cowgirls were unable to get another possession.
"I'm not a big fan of fouling late," Daniel said. "But the way they were shooting deep balls, and we were tired, I thought it was in our best interests to go ahead and get them off the 3-point line and put them on the free throw line. She tried to miss the last free throw and it went in, which is a testament to how good they are. You look at their program and this year they've only been beaten by No. 1 Baylor, defending national champion Texas A&M, LSU, UCLA and now the Sugar Bears. This is a good win for our program."
UCA led by as many as 10 with seven minutes to play in the second half, but went nearly 5:30 without a basket while the Cowgirls went on a tear to pull ahead 44-43 with just under 2:00 left to play. The teams traded scores on the next several possessions, and the Cowgirls led 53-50 after a pair of Baggett free throws with 13.9 seconds left.
Micah Rice only needed 9.7 of them to tie it up.
With time winding down Rice dribbled off a screen at the top of the key, pulled up and buried a 3-pointer to tie the game with 4.2 showing on the clock. Regulation then ended in a scramble for a loose ball after the Sugar Bears had poked it away, keeping the Cowgirls from a game-winning shot attempt.
Down one late in the first overtime, the Sugar Bears looked to have made a stop in the final minute but were whistled for a kicked ball with one second left on the shot clock. With the shot clock reset to 15 seconds, the Cowgirls worked for a shot and found Kendra Wells with time winding down, but Desiree' Rogers flew in for the block with two ticks remaining. Ashlyn Baggett then misfired on the ensuing inbound play, resulting in a shot clock violation and turning possession over to UCA with 41 seconds left.
Nakeia Guiden, who had missed two free throws a couple minutes prior, bounced back to hit one to tie the game at 58 with 30 seconds left. The Cowgirls held for the final shot, but Ashlyn Baggett missed a runner in the paint then Wells grabbed the offensive rebound and missed on her putback attempt to send the game to the second OT.
McNeese struck first with two free throws, but UCA retaliated with another buzzer-beater from Rice – who let one fly with one second remaining on the shot clock to give the Sugar Bears a 61-60 lead. Guiden followed with a pull-up jumper to push the lead to three, but Caitlyn Baggett had an answer from deep on the other end.
Desiree' Rogers followed suit for the Sugar Bears a minute later to make it 66-63, but Caitlyn Baggett again cut the Cowgirls' deficit with a floater with 1:10 to go. Destinee Rogers hit three of four free throws in UCA's next two trips down the floor to give UCA the four-point cushion before Baggett's final 3 and Herbert's free throws to close the scoring.
Herbert, who played all 50 minutes, had 32 points on 55 percent shooting to lead all players and cap a week in which she averaged 29 points and 12 rebounds. Rice added 13 points, Desiree' Rogers had 8 points and 8 rebounds, Destinee Rogers had 8 points and 7 rebounds with only one turnover in 50 minutes, and Guiden added a career-high 9 assists and 3 blocks.
Caitlyn Baggett led McNeese with 23 points and seven assists, while Ashlyn Baggett had 17. Martika Hull had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Wells led McNeese with 12 rebounds.
The Sugar Bears now go back on the road for their next two, traveling to Natchitoches, La. on Wednesday to take on Northwestern State in a game televised on the Southland Conference TV network. They follow with a trip to UT Arlington on Feb. 4 before returning to the Farris Center on Feb. 8 to take on Texas State.
