CONWAY — A late miscue proved costly for Central Arkansas on Wednesday as the Sugar Bears fell 55-50 to Stephen F. Austin in the Farris Center.

After calling a timeout trailing by three with 11 seconds to play to advance the ball to the frontcourt, the Sugar Bears' ensuing inbounds pass went untouched as it skipped across the court and out of bounds, returning possession to the Ladyjacks.

SFA's Stevi Parker hit both of her free throws with 9 seconds remaining to push the Ladyjacks' (22-4, 14-1 Southland) lead to five and put away the Sugar Bears (18-8, 11-4), who would misfire on a pair of free throws and hurried field goal attempt in the final seconds.

The 'Jacks outscored the Sugar Bears by seven at the free throw line, making 19 of 26 (73.1 percent), while the Sugar Bears were 12 of 19 (63.2). Just as they did in their victory in the season's first meeting in Nacogdoches, the 'Jacks beat the Sugar Bears on the offensive glass – getting 14 to UCA's 11, and scoring 10 second-chance points.

Kamry Orr led UCA with 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and going 8-for-11 at the free throw line, also grabbing 6 rebounds and registering 3 assists in 33 minutes. She would be the only Sugar Bear to finish in double figures, with Taylor Baudoin scoring 8 on 4-of-14 shooting while getting 6 rebounds and Kierra Jordan going for 6 and 7. Antonija Bozic was 2-of-5 from 3-point range for 6 points, with her and Orr each knocking down a pair from long range as the Sugar Bears were 4-of-16.

Parker had 18 points and 9 rebounds to lead the 'Jacks, with Chanell Hayes adding 11 and 9.

The loss drops the Sugar Bears three games behind SFA for 2nd place in the Southland standings with three games to play, eliminating the possibility of a double bye to the semifinals of the Southland tournament. Sitting in 3rd at 11-4 with New Orleans 4th at 10-6, the Sugar Bears have a two-game lead in the fight for the bye that comes with those two seeds – with A&M-Corpus Christi and Abilene Christian trailing behind at 9-6.

The Sugar Bears will make their final road swing of the season beginning Saturday at ACU before heading to Sam Houston State next Wednesday. They return to the Farris Center for the regular-season finale against Northwestern State on March 3.