CONWAY — Central Arkansas outscored Crowley's Ridge College 52-14 in the second half to pull away for an easy 91-33 victory over the Lady Pioneers in the Farris Center on Saturday.
After taking a 39-19 halftime lead, the Sugar Bears (4-2) poured it on in the second half – limiting the Lady Pioneers (2-7) to just seven points in each of the final two quarters en route to their highest point total and largest margin of victory since last year's 102-31 win over the Lady Pioneers on Dec. 2.
CRC shot just 18 percent in the second half – making just four field goals over the final two minutes – while the Sugar Bears connected on 56.8 percent after the break and finished the game at an even 50 percent (36 of 72) from the field.
"I liked our second half better than our first half," said Central Arkansas head coach Sandra Rushing. "We've been missing a lot of shots but I know these players can score. My concern is going to be our defense. Our defense has to be consistent every night. We're playing ugly basketball right now. We're getting better, still trying to find our identity. We're learning to play together and learning what I want and expect – and I expect effort all the time. We're going to make mistakes – it's how you respond to that."
The Sugar Bears outrebounded the Lady Pioneers 43-31, forced 30 turnovers while committing just 10, had a 64-12 advantage on points in the paint, 38-9 off turnovers, and 18-2 in fast break points.
Ten Sugar Bears scored, with five reaching double figures – led by freshman Alana Canady's season-high 18 as Central Arkansas had a 50-6 advantage in bench scoring. Sophomore forward Hannah Langhi added 12 points and 5 rebounds; senior guard Alanie Fisher had 12 points and a pair of boards; senior guard Kamry Orr had 11 points and 5 steals; and sophomore forward Mekaylan Hicks added 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Freshman guard Shay Johnson and junior guard Taylor Sells led the Sugar Bears with 6 assists each, with Sells also adding 7 points and 3 steals and Johnson contributing 6 points and 4 rebounds.
"Alanie Fisher has been consistent and we want her to stay consistent," Rushing said. "I thought Shay settled down and did a great job in the second half. Alana – we know she's a really good offensive player, but at halftime I told her she looks like a million dollars on offense and one cent on defense – if she wants to play here, she's going to have to play defense. And she went in and did a great job in the second half."
The Sugar Bears hit the road for three of their final four non-conference games, making trips to Oklahoma Wednesday at 7pm and Texas A&M Saturday at 2pm before returning to the Farris Center on Dec. 17 against Williams Baptist and then heading to Kansas State on Dec. 20 in the final contest before Southland Conference play begins in the Farris Center Dec. 31 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
"It's going to be a fun week coming up," Rushing said. "We've got Oklahoma on Wednesday and Texas A&M on Saturday – it's going to be fun. It's great for our program. We're trying to win a championship, and games like these will help prepare us for that. We want our players to experience games on that stage, to go see a different level. It's only going to make us better."
