CONWAY, Ark. – It certainly wasn't the prettiest basketball at times, but the Central Arkansas women's basketball team picked up a win over Alcorn State Tuesday evening. The 64-48 final score was highlighted by
Lucy Ibeh's season-best 27 points, paired with 12 rebounds for the double-double.
Senior
Carley Hudspeth and freshman
Randrea Wright also scored in double-figures, adding 15 and 13 points, respectively. The Sugar Bears drew 28 fouls from the visitors, earning 31 trips to the free throw line.
"They were hot from three in the first half," Head coach
Sandra Rushing remarked. "But we were able to adjust in the second half, our rebounding was good all night long, and that helped us get the win."
Tuesday night was something of a clash of styles early on in, featuring the methodical, attack-the-rim style of UCA against the chaotic, hundred-miles-an-hour style of Alcorn State. A closely contested first quarter saw the Sugar Bears score 14 of their 18 points in the paint, yet five turnovers and a pair of threes kept the Lady Braves close. Ibeh scored 10 points in the period, helping UCA to an 18-12 lead after one period.
The second quarter was much of the same, with the Sugar Bears battling inside, getting quality looks in the paint, only to have Alcorn State come down and hit a three to keep it a close game. The Lady Braves connected on five triples in the second quarter. UCA was able to answer with a pair of three-pointers from Hudspeth and Langhi to keep the lead at five at the midway break. Ibeh added four points from the free throw line to give herself 14 points for the half.
With halftime adjustments in mind, the UCA defense tightened the vice on the visitors, running shooters off the line and staying the hip pockets of the Lady Brave shooters, allowing only one attempt from beyond the arc in the third quarter. Once inside the arc, the length of the Sugar Bears bothered shots throughout the quarter, holding Alcorn State to just five points in the stanza. On the other end, 10 of the 12 points for UCA were from the paint, with the other two coming at the free throw line. After 30 minutes of basketball, Central Arkansas had stretched the lead to a dozen, entering the fourth up 46-34.
After a chaotic, messy three quarters, the experience of the Sugar Bears took over, as they did on Saturday, to put the game away. Scoring mostly from the free throw line in the fourth, Hudspeth, Ibeh and Langhi scored 15 of 18 points down the stretch to keep the visitors at bay. Wright capped off her night with a trio of freebies, eclipsing double-figure scoring for the fourth time this season. Ibeh also pulled down three rebounds in the period, securing her second double-double of the season in the home win.
Looking ahead, the Sugar Bears have one more game at the Farris Center before hitting the road again, playing Northern Kentucky on Saturday. Tip-off against the Norse is set for 1 p.m.
