CONWAY — Megan Herbert did as she's done so often throughout her career, leading all scorers and recording yet another double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds in her final game in the Farris Center, but it was not enough to overcome 24 Sugar Bear turnovers as Central Arkansas fell 68-53 to Oral Roberts on Saturday.
In the final home game of the careers of a senior class that has averaged more than 20 wins per season and won nearly 85 percent of its games in the Farris Center, the Sugar Bears (15-14, 8-10 Southland) came up short against a Golden Eagle (16-12, 13-5) team that earned a share of Southland conference title in its first season in the league.
"I thought we would come out with more energy and focus," said UCA head coach Sandra Rushing. "You look at the turnovers, it's the same situation we've had all year long. You turn it over 24 times, you're not going to win many ball games. The only person we had in double figures was Megan with 24 points and 11 boards, and Courtney had 16 boards, but we didn't have much else. I don't know if it was emotions from Senior Day, or what it was. I really don't know. The one thing I know is that ORU is a very good basketball team."
Herbert recorded her 83rd double-double in her Farris Center swan song, concluding her final regular season as the Southland's leading scorer at 21.3 points per game in league play and 19.7 for the season. With her 11 rebounds, she finishes the year as the league's second-leading rebounder – averaging 11.6 for the season and 11.7 in league play. The double-double was her 13th of the 18-game conference schedule, tops in the league.
But even with Herbert's performance, a career-high 16 rebounds from Courtney Duever and the Sugar Bears holding ORU leading scorer Kevi Luper – the league's second-leading scorer behind Herbert – to just six points on 2-for-11 shooting, the Golden Eagles scored an easy win thanks to 19 steals and holding the Sugar Bears to 35.8 percent shooting.
"I thought Megan had a good game, as we expect, but we needed other people to step up," Rushing said. "I can't put my finger on it, it seems like we came out without the passion we needed today. We were out of sync offensively and defensively."
While Luper was held in check, the Golden Eagles got 20 points from Taylor Cooper, 15 from Jaci Bigham and 10 from Savannah Buck. The Golden Eagles hit six 3-pointers, with Cooper making four and Bigham two, while the Sugar Bears were just 2-for-8, with Herbert making both.
"They've got good guards who can put it on the floor, attack the basket and shoot the 3," Rushing said. "And I thought their post players did a great job. We can't play like this next Wednesday at the conference tournament or we'll be coming home. It's a new ballgame – you win and keep going, or lose and go home. And I don't want to lose. I'm packed for four days, I want to be there. It's a new season, now we've got to go get it."
The game was the last home game for seniors Britney Gowans, Chantel Moss, Tracey Parsons and Desiree' Rogers in addition to Herbert. Rogers, who was responsible for much of the defensive effort on Luper, finished with eight points, two rebounds and two blocks in her last game at home. Gowans went out with a team-high four assists, two points, three rebounds and a steal. Parsons added six points, three rebounds and a pair of assists. Moss had two points, two rebounds and an assist in nine minutes.
The Sugar Bears will go into next week's conference tournament as the No. 6 seed, and will face 7th-seeded Stephen F. Austin at 1:30 p.m. at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.
