CONWAY — After holding a lead through part of the second half, Central Arkansas fell behind but stayed within striking distance of Arkansas State up until the final minute, but the Red Wolves hit six straight free throws and the Sugar Bears misfired on their last shots as ASU pulled away late to deal UCA a 73-61 loss in the Farris Center.
Down 34-33 at halftime, the Sugar Bears (5-5) scored the first six points of the second half and led the first eight minutes of the period, but ASU (6-5) tied the game on a 3-pointer from Hanna Qedan with 12 minutes to go, and then took the lead for good a minute later on a score from Jalen O'Bannon.
The Sugar Bears stayed within two scores most of the way, but down six and needing a stop with just over a minute left, let ASU's Aundrea Gamble drive in for a layup to push the ASU lead to eight. Courtney Duever answered on UCA's next possession, but that was the Sugar Bears' final score as three 3-pointers missed the mark and ASU was perfect from the free throw line down the stretch to secure the win.
"I was really happy with the way we competed," said UCA head coach Sandra Rushing. "I think the game was closer than the score indicated because we had to foul down the stretch, but we are getting better. Of course, I don't like moral victories at all. We can't make mistakes like we made and beat a team like A-State. They're a very good, athletic, well-coached team, and we can't afford to make the kinds of errors we did. You can tell the decisions we're making are young decisions, and our seniors also need to step up and make better decisions."
The teams were both efficient in the first half, with ASU shooting 58.3 percent and UCA 47.8, and the teams combining to go 10 for 16 (62.5 percent) from 3-point range. The shooting fell off in the second half, with the Red Wolves shooting 42.9 percent and the Sugar Bears just 37 percent. ASU took advantage of the missed shots, out-rebounding the Sugar Bears 24-12 in the second half and corralling 14 of the Sugar Bears' 17 misses. The Red Wolves had 10 offensive rebounds, all in the second half, and doubled the Sugar Bears up in second-chance points 8-4.
Proffitt had a strong night shooting for the Sugar Bears, hitting 5 of 10 3-pointers en route to 18 points including 12 in the first half. It was the freshman's second-highest scoring effort of the season and highest against Division I competition, besting her 14-point effort at Ole Miss.
Duever, coming off the bench for the first time this season, had her best outing in four games with 13 points, six rebounds and a team-high three assists. Her 3-pointer at the 13:08 mark of the first half put her over the 1,000 mark for her career, making her the 23rd Sugar Bear ever to do so and only the fourth since the program moved to Division I in 2006.
Brianna Mullins had 10 points and five rebounds for the Sugar Bears, her fifth time in double figures this season, and Terai Sadler added nine points and two assists.
Gamble had 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Red Wolves, while O'Bannon had 15 points and six rebounds and Jane Morrill had 10 and five.
The Sugar Bears will play their final non-conference game on Dec. 30 when they host Philander Smith at 2 p.m. in the Farris Center. Southland Conference play begins with two at home, starting with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Jan. 2 and Houston Baptist on Jan. 4.
