CONWAY — Central Arkansas ran out to a 19-3 lead in the first 6:30 and encountered little difficulty in defeating Lyon College 59-43 on Tuesday in the Sugar Bears' 2014-15 home opener.
In the first meeting between the in-state foes in nine years, the Sugar Bears (2-2) made seven of their first 10 field goals as they built what would prove to be an insurmountable lead early against the Scots. The Sugar Bears would increase their advantage to as many as 17 in the half as they shot 46.2 percent from 3-point range (6 of 13) and 83.3 percent at the free throw line (5 of 6) in the period.
After taking a 33-20 lead into the break, the Sugar Bears began the second half with a 9-2 run and eventually built a lead as large as 21 before going cold from the field, scoring just nine points over the final 9:30. It wouldn't matter, however, as Lyon had offensive difficulties of its own – shooting 25 percent – and never drew closer than 15.
"We're glad to get the win," said UCA head coach Sandra Rushing. "But we didn't really play very good basketball. We know we've got a lot of work to do, but we can't let this game carry on to the next one. We won, now we have to learn from it and not carry over what we didn't do well into our next game. We just need to enjoy getting this one, rest tomorrow, then come back and get ready for a big game on Saturday."
After making all 15 of their free throw attempts in Saturday's win over Jackson State, the Sugar Bears followed by hitting 10 of 11 (90.9 percent) against Lyon on Tuesday, led by Brittany Agee's 4-for-4.
"That's one positive, our free throw shooting," Rushing said. "We shot over 90 percent and we've shot well from there all season. We have to continue to do that. One thing we do need to really work on, though, is that we're shot-happy. We've got to be smarter on our shot selection, but that's something we can work on."
For the game, the Sugar Bears shot 36.7 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from the 3-point line. Kendara Watts led UCA with 21 points, nearly doubling her season total of 22 coming in. She also added six rebounds and a pair of assists in 31 minutes. Maggie Proffitt added 13 points, and Brianna Mullins had six points, four assists and a career-high 10 rebounds.
"We know what Kendara is capable of doing, and tonight she showed some of that," Rushing said. "She's going to have to score for us, but she's also going to have to understand our defensive schemes and be better on that end of the floor. I wasn't particularly happy with our defense overall tonight, but we did see some positive things."
Ashala Watson, Lyon's 5-foot-2 senior guard, led the Scots with 9 points, and game highs of 11 rebounds and 4 steals.
Tuesday's game was the 50th meeting between the two teams, with the Sugar Bears holding a 37-13 advantage in the series, winning six in a row and 17 of the last 20. Lyon last defeated the Sugar bears 58-53 in Conway in 1999.
The Sugar Bears are home again at Noon on Saturday when they host Jacksonville State out of the Ohio Valley Conference. The Sugar Bears defeated JSU 58-54 in Jacksonville, Ala. last season.
