HAMMOND, La – The Central Arkansas women's basketball team improves to 4-10 overall, 2-4 in the Southland Conference after it defeated Southeastern Louisiana (4-6, 3-4 Southland), 60-54, at the University Center on Wednesday. Lucy Ibeh led UCA with her third-straight game with 14 or more points.
 
The Sugar Bears jumped out to an early 5-0 lead off of a 3-pointer by Tori Lasker followed by a layup by Ibeh. After SLU scored its first points of the game, Briana Trigg found a cutting Ayanna Trigg for a layup and extended the UCA lead to 7-2. The Lady Lions went on an 11-0 run and gained a 13-7 lead with 3:38 left in the quarter. SLU took a 17-10 lead into the second.
 
Ayanna Trigg scored the first four points for the Sugar Bears and Kacey Bradford scored two points for SLU within the first two minutes of the second. The defense from both teams picked up as neither squad scored points for the game's next 6:20. Savanna Walker made two free throws and cut the SLU lead to 19-16 with 2:28 left in the half. Walker followed that up with a 3-pointer and tied the game with 1:56 left in the second. The Lady Lions made a free throw and took a 20-19 lead into the half.
 
After a 3-pointer by SLU made the score 23-19, Walker found a cutting Ibeh for a layup. Walker knocked down a jump shot and tied the game at 23-23. At the 7:04 mark, Ayanna Trigg made a layup and gave the Sugar Bears a 27-26 lead. With 5:42 left in the third, Ibeh drove to the lane for a layup and drew a foul in the process. She converted the and-1 opportunity and put UCA on top, 32-27. Central Arkansas ended the third on a 12-3 run and took a 44-33 lead into the fourth.
 
The Lady Lions started the final quarter on an 8-2 run and pulled within five, 46-41, with 7:14 left in regulation. After SLU pulled within four, 50-46, Lasker hit a jump and extended UCA's lead to 52-46. After a Lady Lions' 3-pointer, Ibeh made a jumper to put the Sugar Bears up by five, 54-49, with 1:32 left in regulation. The UCA defense and good free-throw shooting down the stretch led to UCA's 60-54 victory.
 
Ibeh led the Sugar Bears with a team-high 19 points, team-high seven rebounds, and game-high three steals. Walker finished the game in double-digits with 12 points and tied for the team lead in blocks with one. Terri Crawford posted the other UCA block and added six points. Briana Trigg finished with a game-high three assists and chipped in with seven points. Ayanna Trigg posted a season-high eight points.
 
As a team, UCA held SLU to 54 points, which is 18 points below the Lady Lions' average for the season. The Sugar Bears held the advantage 35-26 in rebounds. As a team, UCA shot a season-high 60.0 percent from behind the arc. The Sugar Bear defense held the Lady Lions to just three points in the second quarter, the fewest points SLU has scored in a single quarter and the fewest points UCA has held a team to in a single quarter.
 
Morgan Carrier led the Lady Lions with a game-high 25 points. Natalie Kelly finished with a game-high nine rebounds and added 10 points.
 
The Sugar Bears return to the Farris Center for a contest with Northwestern State on Saturday, Jan. 30. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start time and will be the first game of a men's and women's doubleheader.
 
From the Coach – Head Coach Sandra Rushing
"I'm really proud of our effort! I thought we really played hard. We needed to pull out a tight ballgame like this to show that we can win. We outrebounded them, that's good. I really liked how hard we played defense tonight. We're starting to figure out how to win. This was a great teaching moment for us. We beat a very talented and athletic team."
 
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