MACON, Ga. — A late pair of free throws from Eastern Kentucky and a turnover in the final seconds was enough to do in Central Arkansas on Friday as the Sugar Bears fell 56-55 to the Colonels in Preseason WNIT action at Mercer University.
After taking a 55-54 lead with 1:38 to play on a score inside from senior forward Terai Sadler, the Sugar Bears (0-2) forced three turnovers over the next minute to keep EKU (1-1) at bay. But the Colonels forced a turnover of their own with less than 30 seconds to play, getting a steal by Alexus Cooper. The Colonels worked the ball to Michaela Hunter, who was fouled with 10 seconds to play to earn a trip to the free throw line.
Hunter knocked down the pair to give EKU the lead, and then on the Sugar Bears' ensuing possession, Cooper came up with another steal to clinch the come-from-behind victory for the Colonels.
The Sugar Bears built a lead as large as 10 late in the first half, but the Colonels closed out the half with a 12-2 run over the last 4:25 to send the teams into the locker room tied at 29. EKU continued the run in the 2nd half, scoring the first six points to assume a lead that they would hold for the next 15 minutes before the Sugar Bears chipped away and eventually drew even at 51 with 4:35 left on a basket from Sadler. The teams then traded leads the rest of the way, with the margin remaining within two throughout the final five minutes.
UCA got a game-high 21 points and career-high tying 8 rebounds from sophomore guard Brianna Mullins, who was 4 of 10 from 3-point range. Mullins also added a pair of assists and steals in 33 minutes. Sophomore guard Maggie Proffitt, who had 22 in last week's season opener at Western Kentucky, followed with 16 on Friday, hitting 2 of 4 from beyond the arc and shooting 6-for-11 overall. Sadler had 10 points and a career-best 8 rebounds, and freshman Olivia McWilliams had a team-high four assists to go with two points, four rebounds and two steals in 26 minutes before going down in the final minute with a knee injury.
The Sugar Bears out rebounded the Colonels 39-33, made six 3-pointers to four for EKU, were 9 of 13 (69.2 percent) from the free throw line and had just one more turnover (17) than did the Colonels (16). However, EKU converted the UCA turnovers into 20 points while the Sugar Bears generated just nine off of EKU's. The Sugar Bears did hold a 15-7 advantage in second-chance points on the strength of 16 offensive rebounds, with five different players registering two apiece.
With the loss, the Sugar Bears will conclude their Preseason WNIT swing at 3 p.m. Central on Saturday when they face Jackson State, who lost 80-48 to the host Mercer Bears on Friday.
