Conway, Ark. - After coming off a four game road trip in which they went 2-2, Central Arkansas (2-2-1) returned home to the Bill Stephens Complex for non-conference action to face the Lady Lions University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-2-0).
 
The Bears came out strong early on, forcing Lady Lion goalkeeper Sariah Orocu into action 52 seconds into the match in which a strike from Gracie Hair forced a save from Orocu. The Bears would continue to apply pressure, forcing Orocu to make another save in the 10th minute on a shot from Anika Sultan, another shot from Sultan in the 13th minute and a shot from Bria Williams in the 13th minute as well that went just wide.
 
The Bears would then open up the scoring a minute later on a goal from Connie Awuku-Darkoh as Camille Bassett dribbled down the touch line, squared it across the face of goal and it was eventually smashed home by Awuku-Darkoh into the top right corner from 5 yards out for her 4th goal of the  season. The assist makes it Bassett's 2nd of the season.
 
The Bears would continue to keep the majority of possession for the remainder of the half in which they forced two more corner kicks and went into the half with a 1-0 lead.
 
Central Arkansas would carry over momentum into the second half, nearly scoring on a header attempt from Hadley Dickinson in the 49th minute. The pressure eventually paid off minutes later as Williams found herself in a 1 on 1 opportunity with Orocu on a lofted through ball from Alex Wetteland. Williams was able to win the race and tuck it away, giving the Bears a commanding 2-0 advantage in the 55th minute.
 
The Bears would post a flurry of corner kicks in the 58th minute but were unable to capitalize and the score remained 2-0. The 66th minute saw the Bears get their third goal of the night on a shot from Taylor Webb that was deflected on its way into the back of the net. The goal saw Webb get her first of the season as well as Kristen Ricks first assist of the season.
 
The 74th minute saw the Bears earn four straight corner kicks in a row and they eventually made  one count as Dawson Depperschmidt drove the corner across the box where it was  flicked on by Morgan Hurd and ultimately blasted home from three yards out by Lauren Hargus, giving the Bears a 4-0 advantage and her first goal of the season.
 
The Bears posted a great defensive performance, holding the Lady Lions to zero total shots on the game. The Bears would post 26 total shots, putting nine of them on target. They would also earn 14 corner kicks in the match, including 12 in the second half.
 
UCA coach Jeremy Bishop was pleased overall with the performance tonight coming off the long road trip.
 
"I can't believe it's only the second home game, feels like we've been playing forever, but it was great to get back and have a good crowd. Great to be home and have everything work out the right way," said Bishop.
 
The Bears return to action this Wednesday to host Oral Roberts at the Bill Stephens Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.