CONWAY — In the clash of the Southland's top offense and top defense, it was the defense that reigned supreme on Saturday.
Central Arkansas – which came into Saturday's game leading the Southland and ranking 2nd in the country in scoring defense at 49.6 – put the clamps on the high-powered offense of Lamar, holding the Cardinals 43 points below their season average as the Sugar Bears scored a 51-39 victory to deal the league's preseason favorite their first conference loss.
The Sugar Bears (11-4, 4-0 Southland) limited the Cardinals (8-6, 3-1) – the nation's No. 21 scoring offense at 82.3 points per game – to their lowest point total of the season by 19 points, their previous low coming in a 90-58 loss at New Mexico.
The Cardinals shot just 26.8 percent (15 of 56) – their second-worst effort of the season ahead of only a 26.7 percent day in a 121-62 loss at Baylor in the season opener. Chastadie Barrs and Kiandra Bowers – Lamar's second- and third-leading scorers for the year at a combined 23.3 points per game – were a combined 1 of 9 for just 3 points on Saturday.
The Sugar Bears not only stifled Lamar offensively, they limited the impact of the Cardinals' opportunistic defense – which came in leading the nation in steals at 17.2 per game and ranked 2nd in turnovers forced at 27.9. The Sugar Bears committed just 16 turnovers and the Cardinals came away with only 8 steals, with the Sugar Bears finishing with a 14-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
For the seventh straight game, the Sugar Bears outrebounded their opponent, with a 44-33 advantage over the Cardinals on Saturday. Each team had 13 offensive rebounds, but the Sugar Bears capitalized with much more frequency, getting 15 second-chance points to the Cardinals' one.
And the Sugar Bears did it all missing their head coach, as Sandra Rushing was out due to the passing of her father on Thursday. Associate head coach Greg Long served as acting head coach, moving to 3-0 in that role over the last two weeks.
The win is the 21st straight against Southland teams and the Sugar Bears' 16th in a row in the Farris Center, where they are 34-3 over the last three seasons. It also extends the Sugar Bears' current win streak to six, in which they are allowing just 45.3 points per game.
Kierra Jordan logged her fourth consecutive double-double for the Sugar Bears, getting 10 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, also dishing out a game-high 4 assists.
Taylor Baudoin led all players with 19 points and also pulled down 7 rebounds with 3 assists, and
Kamry Orr added 11 points and 3 steals.
Angel Williams added 9 points, making 3 of 5 from 3-point range, and
Taylor Sells had 7 rebounds, a block and a steal.
After a 3-0 homestand, the Sugar Bears now hit the road, traveling to San Antonio to face Incarnate Word on Wednesday before visiting Nicholls next Saturday. They return to the Farris Center on Jan. 17 when they host New Orleans.
NOTES
• Jordan's 16 rebounds equals the highest total for a Sugar Bear since Megan Herbert had 17 against McNeese on March 2, 2013
• Her four consecutive double-doubles is the longest streak for a Sugar Bear since Courtney Duever also had four in a row in January of 2014
• It is the 29th time the Sugar Bears have held an opponent to 40 or less during Coach Rushing's tenure, including the 6th against Southland opponents
• The 39 points was Lamar's lowest total since getting 34 at Baylor on Nov. 9, 2012 – a span of 169 games
QUOTES
Head Coach Sandra Rushing
"I am so, so proud of the players – that was a complete team effort. And I really want to thank my staff – associate head coach Greg Long, Shameka Thomas, Chelsey Rhodes and Anissa Jackson. They all did an outstanding job. I wish I could have been there, but circumstances have kept me from that. But they went out and beat a very good basketball team. Our players and staff deserve all the credit in the world. That was a huge win."
"There's no playbook for life. You can watch all the film in the world and scout every aspect of a basketball game. But there's no film study for life, and in life you will be hit with things you can't prepare for and have to deal with adversity and be put in tough situations. This has obviously been a very tough situation for me, but I can't say how proud I am of this team for the way they have responded and the way they played today. They played with passion and heart, and they were on a mission. The staff did a tremendous job of managing the game, and our team refused to lose. I'm just so, so proud of them."
"This is a huge win, but today's game does not define our season. We're still on a mission. We're not going to let up, and we've got to keep working. This just makes the bullseye on our backs bigger. They'll get tomorrow off, the rest is well deserved and we'll enjoy this win, but then we have to get back to work for Incarnate Word on Wednesday."
Associate Head Coach Greg Long
"This team showed what they've got. And we don't have to motivate them – it helps them when some people make comments early on in the season, and these girls have had a chip on their shoulder and they played like it today. They just have to remember to keep their foot on the pedal and keep going."
"Before Coach had to leave, she came in Thursday morning and said 'this is what we're going to do and we're going to win the ballgame – control the boards, control tempo, limit turnovers and contain the drive' and that's been our focus the last couple of days. The girls did everything they were asked to do. Once again Sandra Rushing gave a heck of a game plan, and they executed."
"This team played like Coach wanted them to, like she expects them to. We did not take a possession off. Just played hard. Coach told them Lamar is going to hit shots. What our girls didn't do is duck their heads. They kept going hard and going hard. It was a great win."
"This was the best thing we could have done for Coach Rushing right now. When I came on board with Coach, I learned real quick watching her that it's more than just a coach-player relationship. This is part of her family. We play and work like family, we might get on each others nerves sometimes, but at the end of the day – don't mess with our family."
