KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Central Arkansas got off to a strong start in its 2019-20 season opener at Tennessee on Thursday, leading the Lady Vols 23-22 early in the second quarter.

Unfortunately for the Sugar Bears the finish wasn't quite as strong, as Tennessee would outscore Central Arkansas 41-13 over the final 29 minutes to deal the Sugar Bears a 63-36 loss in front of 7,278 at Thompson-Boling Arena.

"I was really proud of our first half," Sugar Bear head coach Sandra Rushing said. "I thought we competed and showed a lot of energy. I think in the second half, Tennessee's physicality really took over and I thought fatigue played a role. But it was encouraging early on, with a new group, to see that we're not going to back down and see those glimpses of what we're capable of doing. We just have to learn how to do it for 40 minutes. My job is to make sure that we put people in the right positions to help this team succeed."

The Sugar Bears (0-1) shot 50 percent from the field in the first quarter – hitting 8 of 16 – en route to 18 points; but struggled on the offensive end the rest of the way as they were just 7-for-43 (16.3 percent) over the final three quarters. Tennessee (2-0), meanwhile, shot 50 percent for the game including a 9-for-14 3rd quarter in which they outscored the Sugar Bears 18-7 to begin to pull away.

While they encountered their difficulties on the offensive end, the Sugar Bears battled the much taller Lady Vols – with all but one player on their roster listed at 6-foot or taller – on the boards, with Tennessee holding just a 41-36 rebound advantage after outrebounding East Tennessee State by 21 in their season opener on Tuesday. The Sugar Bears had 17 offensive rebounds to the Lady Vols' 11.

"I think we did a good job on the boards with them, and that was something I was really concerned with coming in," Rushing said. "We'v really emphasized blocking out, and we didn't mind getting in there and getting physical tonight with a bigger team. I thought Terri (Crawford) banged, I thought Yanni and Bri (Trigg) did a good job of banging. We had really good effort for the most part, but we have to improve offensively. We've got to shoot better from the free throw line, we've got to do a better job of handling the basketball and knowing where to pass it. We've got a lot of work to do, but I'm excited about the potential of this team. I'll be more excited when we get everybody back on the floor. It's a work in progress, but I thought we took a couple steps in the right direction tonight."

Senior guard Taylor Sells led the attack for the Sugar Bears with 10 points and 6 rebounds. Ayanna Trigg, in her Sugar Bear debut, added 6 points and 6 rebounds. Hannah Langhi added 5 points and 3 rebounds, and freshman Terri Crawford had 4 and 5 in her first game in a Central Arkansas uniform. Tennessee was led by 17 points from freshman Jordan Horston.

The 63 points and 27-point spread were both the lowest in the three-game history between the Sugar Bears and Lady Vols, with Tennessee winning 102-47 in 2015 and 77-34 in 2017.

The Sugar Bears will make their home debut next Tuesday when they host crosstown foe Hendrix College at 7:00pm.