HOUSTON — Maddie Goodner and Antonija Bozic hit back-to-back 3-pointers to ignite a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter to allow Central Arkansas to pull away from Houston Baptist as the Sugar Bears defeated the Huskies 77-58 in Sharp Gym on Wednesday for their third straight victory.
After HBU (7-14, 2-9 Southland) had cut a Central Arkansas lead that had been as high as 14 to just five entering the fourth quarter, the Sugar Bears (10-12, 5-7) came out on fire in the final period – getting the consecutive 3-pointers, a pair of free throws from Alanie Fisher and a bucket from Alana Canady to extend the lead to 15 and distance themselves from the Huskies for their fifth consecutive win in the series.
"I'm really happy – any time you get a road win, that's a positive," Central Arkansas coach Sandra Rushing said. "We didn't come out well in the 3rd quarter – they outscored us 20-11 – and I told them we've got to figure out how to win this game. We didn't play good basketball, but we found a way to win. I'm really proud of this team. They were playing hard – didn't play smart at times, but played hard. Just proud we found a way to win."
Though it was Goodner and Bozic who kickstarted the game-changing run in a 4th quarter in which the Sugar Bears outscored the Huskies 26-12, it was senior guard Kamry Orr who did the bulk of the heavy lifting throughout the game – recording her second double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 assists, coming just short of a triple-double with 8 rebounds while also getting a game-high 5 steals.
Canady tied her season high with 16 points – her third straight game in double figures – and Fisher had 11 points and 6 rebounds. Junior center Alexyse Thomas had her most productive game as a Sugar Bear with a season-high 12 points and 5 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench. Bozic finished with 8 points and 3 assists, while Goodner added 6 points, 2 rebounds and tied her season high with 2 blocks.
"Kam did a great job," Rushing said. "And how about Alex? She came in and gave us some valuable minutes. I told her we were going to have to have big minutes out of her. We were outmatched at the post size-wise, and I thought we did a good job down there."
Against the much taller Huskies, who have seven players at 6-foot or taller on their roster compared to just two for the Sugar Bears, Central Arkansas was outrebounded by only one (32 to 31) and equaled HBU with 32 points in the paint.
The win gives the Sugar Bears their longest winning streak of the season at three, and they have won 4 of their last 6. They'll look to continue the streak next Wednesday when McNeese visits the Farris Center.
