CONWAY — Her team down by two, redshirt freshman guard Olivia McWilliams cooly stepped to the line and sank three free throws with 3.3 seconds remaining to send Central Arkansas to a 45-44 victory over Houston Baptist Wednesday night in the Farris Center, giving the Sugar Bears their fourth straight win.
In the waning seconds, the odds appeared to be stacked against the Sugar Bears (14-2, 4-1 Southland) as they trailed by two with Houston Baptist (7-8, 2-3) going to the free throw line with 14 seconds to go. But HBU's Anna Strickland – who was shooting 71.4 percent from the line in conference play and had made her two previous attempts on Wednesday – missed both. Unfortunately for the Sugar Bears, as Raquel Logan slid across the court diving to corral the rebound, she was ruled out of bounds – giving possession back to the Huskies.
But then, things took a turn the Sugar Bears' way. On the ensuing inbound play, HBU's Lisa Zderadicka was whistled for a foul on Central Arkansas' Brianna Mullins, putting the ball back in the Sugar Bears' hands with 10 ticks left.
The Sugar Bears got the ball up the floor to McWilliams – who had played just three minutes and had yet to take a shot in the game. Her 3-point attempt was off the mark – but it mattered not, as she was knocked to the floor by HBU's Monet Neal – giving her three free throw attempts with 3.3 showing on the clock. McWilliams – who had made just three free throws total in the Sugar Bears' last nine games – stepped to the line and knocked down all three to put UCA ahead by one.
HBU was unable to get a final shot, giving the Sugar Bears their fourth consecutive win and their fifth in their last six against the Huskies.
In an offensive struggle for both teams, the Sugar Bears entered the fourth quarter leading 29-26 and held that lead until Zderadicka put HBU ahead 37-35 with just under two minutes to play. The Sugar Bears regained the lead with 55 seconds left when Logan made one of two free throws to make it 40-39. Zderaadicka struck again on the other end, knocking down a three-pointer with 27 seconds left to make it 42-40 Huskies.
HBU increased its lead to four on a pair of free throws by Neal with 20 seconds left, but the Sugar Bears quickly cut it in half on a Sandy Jackson layup just a couple seconds later. That set up the final sequence, with the Sugar Bears sending Strickland to the line with 14 seconds remaining on the ensuing possession.
On a night when both teams struggled to get shots to fall, the Sugar Bears were in position to win at the end thanks in part to maybe their unlikeliest shot of the season when Jameka Watkins – who came into the game 0-for-5 from 3-point range for the season – flung one up and in from half court to beat the buzzer at the end of the first quarter.
The Sugar Bears finished just 23.7 percent from the field and HBU was 32.7 percent, with the Huskies going 2-for-6 from 3-point range and the Sugar Bears 3-for-10. But it was their work at the free throw line that sealed the deal for Central Arkansas, with the Sugar Bears hitting 14 of 16 (87.5 percent) to HBU's 10 of 13 (76.9).
Maggie Proffitt finished with a team-high 15 points despite shooting 3-of-16 from the field, hitting all eight of her free throws. Mullins added 7 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and Logan had 5 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Watkins and McWilliams finished with 3 points each.
Neal had 18 points and 15 rebounds for HBU, while Strickland had 15 and 14, adding 3 blocks and 2 steals.
The Sugar Bears have a weeklong break from action, returning to play next week on the road at New Orleans and Nicholls. They'll play at Northwestern State on Jan. 27 before returning home against Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 3.
