KATY, Texas — Central Arkansas got off to a hot start on Thursday, scoring 15 points in the first 5:30 to take a 15-11 lead – but the Sugar Bears went scoreless the rest of the first quarter, and Abilene Christian went on a 31-6 run as the Wildcats defeated the Sugar Bears 82-54 to bring a close to Central Arkansas' season in the second round of the Southland Conference tournament.
"I'm disappointed in the way we lost," Sugar Bear head coach Sandra Rushing said. "We just couldn't get anything going. We got beat by a better team. It's obvious, they beat us three times this year. They're well-coached, their players play hard, they've got three all-conference guards and that says a lot."
The 4th-seeded Wildcats (21-9) knocked down a Southland tournament-record 16 3-pointers to send the 8th-seeded Sugar Bears (12-18) home and complete the three-game season sweep after winning the regular-season meetings by seven and two points.
"I like this team - but I don't like sitting up here getting beat by 30 or 40," Rushing said. "We got beat by a better team – but it's the fight that we have to have. We're going to get that 'refuse to lose' attitude back and be tough and get physical. I'm excited about the offseason. We're going to re-establish and reaffirm what our program is about. First of all – that's doing the right thing, working at a championship level, coming in every day. We're going to work on our game. What we do in the offseason prepares us for next year. You can't wait until September and decide 'I'm going to work on my game'. And we've got to commit to the weight room. This team did not like the weight room, and they're going to like the weight room in the offseason. There's not a choice."
The Sugar Bears come up short of the tournament semifinals for the first time since 2015, but advanced in the tournament for the fourth straight year and are now 6-2 in their last eight games in Katy. They closed out the regular season by losing five straight right after putting together a four-game winning streak in which they won by an average of 28.5 points.
"It's been a rollercoaster all year for us," Rushing said. "We had some highs, and some really low lows. We didn't think we were going to be here, so that's a low; then we go right back up; then we win yesterday and that's a high; now we're back at a low. We've got a lot of work to do. I don't like how we ended the season - we didn't fight hard enough. This time of year you've got to be mentally and physically tough enough, and I have to do a better job as a head coach, and that starts in the offseason. And I'm going to do a better job because I don't like this feeling at all. I'm the head coach and I'm responsible."
In Thursday's loss to ACU, the Sugar Bears struggled offensively – shooting just 33.9 percent from the field and making only 3 of 14 (21.4 percent) from 3-point range. In the second and third quarters, in which they were outscored 41-16 by ACU, the Sugar Bears were just 7-for-30 (23.3 percent).
Kamry Orr had 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals in 29 minutes while battling foul trouble, and finished the tournament averaging 21 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 5 steals per game. Alana Canady had 11 points in 19 minutes, the freshman's 10th double-digit scoring effort of the year. Alanie Fisher added 9 points and 3 rebounds in her collegiate finale. Savannah Lowe added 6 points in 10 minutes.
ACU got 14 points and 8 rebounds from Lexie Ducat and 14 points and 7 assists from Breanna Wright.
"I really want to thank all our fans who were here, the cheerleaders and the band – I really appreciate them coming," Rushing said. "And of course the people behind the scenes that keep things afloat who never get any credit. I really do appreciate them. Also my boss, Dr. Teague and President Davis came in to watch the game. And the Southland always puts on a great tournament - absolutely a great tournament. I wish we were still here on Sunday to be a part of it. But we'll be back."
