CONWAY — Central Arkansas head coach Sandra Rushing scored the 450th win of her career on Sunday as the Sugar Bears defeated Incarnate Word 58-49 in the Farris Center for their fourth win in five games.

"That just tells you how long I've been coaching," said Rushing, who is in the 26th season of a head coaching career that has included stints at UTEP, Delta State, Henderson State and MIllsaps College. "I've had some great players and assistant coaches through the years who have helped make it happen. I'm just happy for the win today, because it was one we really needed to get."

With the win, the Sugar Bears (14-10, 7-5 Southland) took another step in solidifying their spot in the Southland Conference tournament, putting three games in the loss column between them and Sam Houston State, the next team below in the conference standings. With six games remaining, the Sugar Bears are tied with McNeese State – Wednesday's opponent in the Farris Center – for sixth place, just a game out of fourth and two out of third. The loss was the eighth straight for Incarnate Word (5-18, 2-10).

"We needed this one today," Rushing said. "There's a lot of basketball left and we're fighting for a spot in the tournament. We've got two tough ones coming up in here this week. McNeese isn't going to be easy, and Sam Houston isn't going to be easy, so it was important to get this one today. But, we've got to play better basketball than we did today."
 

After building a three-point halftime lead, the Sugar Bears got off to a hot start in the second half as they built a 10-point lead, but the Cardinals rallied with a 10-0 run to tie the game at 39 with just under 7 minutes to play.

The Sugar Bears halted the UIW run when Taisiya Novokreschenova drew a charge and Brianna Mullins came down with a three-pointer on the other end. After a UIW free throw, Novokreshchenova followed with a basket on the Sugar Bears' ensuing possession to push the lead back to four, and Jameka Watkins added a layup to make it 46-40.

UCA then closed it out by outscoring UIW 7-2 over the final two minutes, knocking down five free throws to help seal the victory. UIW was just 1 of 5 from the line for the entire game.

"Taya came in and gave us a spark," Rushing said. "She's accepted her role and she came in and played it well today. Maggie Proffitt shot the ball well for having a 101-degree fever, and Bri (Mullins) did a good job as well. We did struggle to get things going at times offensively, and defensively we missed some assignments on the back side, so there are things we need to work on."

Mullins and Proffitt each had 15 points to lead the Sugar Bears, and Kelsey McClure led the team with five rebounds and three assists to go alone with six points in 21 minutes off the bench. Kendara Watts added 10 points, making all four of her free throw attempts.

The Sugar Bears play twice more in the Farris Center this week, hosting McNeese State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Sam Houston State at 2 p.m. on Saturday. It's the final week at home before Senior Day against Southeastern Louisiana on February 28.