CONWAY — Southern Illinois was limited to 39 points and shot just 34.9 percent from the field on Monday, but unfortunately for Central Arkansas that was enough for the Salukis to pull out a win at the Farris Center as the Sugar Bears fell 39-37 for their first home loss of the season.
"We got outplayed and we're not listening," said UCA head coach Sandra Rushing. "We are not playing as a unit. There's a lot of selfish basketball, and we're going to fix that. We missed some shots and we can't get into our offense. I'm very, very, very disappointed."
The Sugar Bears (5-3) shot just 15 of 58 (25.9 percent) from the field and were only 2 of 14 (14.3 percent) from 3-point range and 50 percent (5 of 10) at the free throw line as they were held to their lowest point total since scoring 36 at Louisiana Tech in the 2008-09 season opener.
Trailing by five, 38-33, with time slipping away, the Sugar Bears got a basket from Courtney Duever with 20 seconds to go, then a Maggie Proffitt steal led to a layup by Jameka Watkins to cut the SIU lead to one with 14 seconds remaining.
A few seconds later, SIU's Cartaesha Macklin made it a two-point game again with a free throw, giving the Sugar Bears a chance to tie or take the lead in the game's final possession. After getting the ball past mid court, the Sugar Bears called a final timeout with four seconds left to set up their final play. Unfortunately, they were unable to get a shot off as the ball was knocked away from Kelsei Ewings as she drove to the basket, preserving the Saluki's lead as time expired.
The Sugar Bears out rebounded the Salukis 42-38, had 15 turnovers to SIU's 18, shot a better percentage at the free throw line, made more 3-pointers, had more points in the paint, off turnovers, more second-chance points, fast break points and points off the bench – but still could not get over the hump.
"When we're not making shots, we've got to go play defense," Rushing said. "SIU did exactly what they wanted when they wanted to tonight. It's time for this team to grow up and take care of business."
In a game in which neither team ever led by more than six, the Sugar Bears took their final lead with 4:38 left in the game on a 3-pointer from Proffitt to make it 33-32, but lost it a minute later and then missed their next five shots and committed a turnover down the stretch as the Salukis built what would be their largest lead of the game in the final minute.
The Sugar Bears did not have a player reach double figures in scoring, with Proffitt, Brittany Agee and Micah Rice leading the way with eight each. Beyond that trio, the rest of the Sugar Bears shot only 4 of 29 (13.8 percent). Duever, who was just 1 for 9 from the field, had game highs of 11 rebounds and four assists and also added a block and steal in 30 minutes. Rice added two assists and four steals.
The Salukis got 10 points apiece from Macklin and Azia Washington, along with six points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and three steals from Dyana Pierre.
UCA will look to bounce back at home at 2 p.m. on Saturday when the Sugar Bears host Southern Mississippi from Conference USA. Last season the Golden Eagles defeated the Sugar Bears 53-44 in Hattiesburg.
