STARKVILLE, Miss. — Jalisa Outlaw led the Sugar Bears with 19 points in her return to her hometown. The Central Arkansas (2-6) women's basketball team fell to No. 13 Mississippi State (5-1) 72-49, on Sunday at the Humphrey Coliseum.
 
The Sugar Bears and Bulldogs were in a defensive battle early in the first as a total of 11 points were scored in the first five minutes of the game. Mississippi State held a slim 7-4 advantage at the first media timeout. Outlaw drained a half court buzzer-beater to end the first period. The Bulldogs ended the quarter on a 17-6 run and took a 22-10 lead into the second quarter.
 
The Mississippi State defense picked up the intensity and held the UCA attack to zero made field goals. The Sugar Bears scored four points off of free throws. Mississippi State outscored Central Arkansas 19-4 in the second and took a 41-14 lead at the half.
 
Despite the early onslaught by the Bulldogs, the Sugar Bears were resilient and answered in the third quarter as they outscored the Bulldogs 18-15. Outlaw and Lucy Ibeh both produced seven points each to pace the UCA offense. Ibeh brought down four rebounds in the third to lead the team.
 
UCA used the momentum from the third and put it on the court in the fourth. After an early timeout by UCA, Hannah Langi scored the first five points in the quarter for the Sugar Bears. With just under seven minutes left to play, Central Arkansas went on an 8-0 run and made the score 62-45. The Sugar Bears outscored the Bulldogs 17-16 in the fourth and 35-31 for the second half.
 
Outlaw finished with a team-high 19 points and shot 14-of-15 at the free throw line. She added five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Ibeh led UCA with seven rebounds and chipped in with seven points. Tori Lasker added a season-high seven points and collected two steals. Terri Crawford recorded UCA's lone shot block and she finished with two points. Briana Trigg and Romola Dominguez brought down three boards each.
 
As a team, UCA produced more second-chance points, 8-6, and tied Mississippi State in bench points with 18. The Sugar Bears put together their best free-throw percentage on the season with a combined 22-for-24 effort, 91.7 percent.
 
Jessika Carter posted a game-high 29 points and added a game-high 15 rebounds for Mississippi State.
 
Central Arkansas returns to the hardwood after the New Year with a road trip to Lake Charles, Louisiana. The Sugar Bears will face McNeese State on Saturday, Jan. 2, at 1 p.m., in the Southland Conference opener.
 
From the Coach – Head Coach Sandra Rushing
"I thought we fought hard. They jumped out on us early and there was a lot of frustration because of their physicality and height. We've got to put together 40 minutes of basketball. We won the third and fourth quarter, I'm very pleased with that. I thought Tori did a good job for us. Hannah hit a few shots and did the things she was supposed to do. They were keying so much on Jalisa. I was glad to see the way we played the second half, we could have folded, but we didn't. We can't make the mental mistakes that we did tonight and expect to do well in conference. We've got to clean up a few things. I'm disappointed in the loss, but by no means am I disappointed in this team. We need to have the whole team buy in, not just a few."

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