ATLANTA, Ga. — Central Arkansas struggled with both shooting and turnovers on Sunday, being held to 37 percent shooting while committing a season-high 25 turnovers, as the Sugar Bears fell 88-50 on the road at Georgia Tech.
"They're more athletic and faster than we are, but the problem I have is when you put that uniform on you have to play hard and fight no matter what the score is," UCA head coach Sandra Rushing said. "We dug ourselves a hole because we played selfishly today, taking shots we didn't need to take, and we didn't run down the floor on defense. I saw some good things, but a lot of selfish play and that bothers me. We have to realize we only have nine players, and we can't run with them and come down and make one pass then jack it up, because we've still got to go to the other end and play defense. Our shot selection was horrible, and we've got to fix that."
After trailing 39-24 at the half, the Sugar Bears (4-5) started the second half just 1 of 10 from the field as Georgia Tech (6-4) extended its lead to 30. The Yellow Jackets would eventually build their lead to as many as 38, shooting nearly 60 percent from the field in the half as they finished at 53.6 percent for the game while converting UCA's 25 turnovers into 32 points.
The win improves the Yellow Jackets to 4-1 inside McCamish Pavilion this season, and runs their record to 15-3 in their last 18 non-conference home games.
Kendara Watts had 15 points on 7 of 11 shooting to lead the Sugar Bears, her sixth game in double figures this season.
Angel Williams had a season-high nine points, shooting 3-for-3 from 3-point range, with
Maggie Proffitt and
Brianna Mullins also scoring nine each for UCA. Proffitt hit three 3-pointers in the game as the Sugar Bears matched their season high with nine, going 6-of-15 (40 percent) in the second half.
Mullins and Watts each had five rebounds for the Sugar Bears, and
Kelsey McClure had four assists. Zaire O'Neil had a season-high 24 points for the Yellow Jackets, with Kaela Davis adding 16 and Sydney Wallace 15.
Despite a height disadvantage of nearly four inches per player, the Sugar Bears trailed the Yellow Jackets just 18-15 in rebounds in the first half, but Georgia Tech took control on the glass in the second half to finish with a 39-26 advantage. The larger Yellow Jackets had their way around the basket, outscoring the Sugar Bears 54-12 in the paint, with Georgia Tech shooting 60 percent on two-point field goal attempts.
The Sugar Bears play their next three games – and five of the next six – in the Farris Center, beginning with Williams Baptist at 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Blue Mountain at 2 p.m. on Friday. UCA will host Austin Peay on Dec. 30 in the final non-conference game before beginning Southland Conference play at Abilene Christian on Jan. 6.
"I'm looking forward to getting back home," Rushing said. "I'm excited to get back to practice tomorrow."
