HUNTSVILLE, Texas _ Foul trouble on one end of the floor and poor free-throw shooting on the other spelled defeat for the University of Central Arkansas Sugar Bears on Saturday afternoon.
The Sugar Bears saw their four-game winning streak end in a 69-61 loss to Sam Houston in Southland Conference play at Johnson Coliseum. The Bearkats earned the season sweep after a seven-point win in Conway back on Jan. 9. UCA's last loss prior to Saturday was Jan. 23 to Abilene Christian.
UCA (7-11, 5-5) made just 17 of 30 at the free-throw line for 56.7 percent while SHSU (10-6, 6-4) went 27 of 38 (71.1 percent) at the foul line. The Sugar Bears lost three starters to fouls, including leading scorer and rebounder
Lucy Ibeh in the final seconds of the third quarter. The junior from Lagos, Nigeria, finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds after averaging 20.8 points and 9.5 rebounds over the past six games.
Sisters Briana and
Ayanna Trigg also fouled out in the fourth quarter. The teams combined for 52 fouls and shot a combined 68 free throws.
The Sugar Bear survived a 14-2 scoring run by the Bearkats in the first half and still managed a 34-33 lead at halftime. Junior guard
Carley Hudspeth scored all seven points in the opening quarter as UCA grabbed a 19-14 lead at the first break.
After the Sugar Bears pushed that margin to 26-17 at the 5:32 mark of the second period, the Bearkats responded with the 14-2 run that gave them a 31-29 lead with 2:00 remaining in the half. Ibeh scored inside and
Savanna Walker and
Briana Trigg made one free throw each to set the halftime margin.
SHSU came out strong in the second half and ran out to a 43-36 lead in the opening 3:30 and led by as much as 11 points late in the quarter, and 55-46 through three quarters. But UCA opened the fourth period with a 6-0 run to quickly get back in it.
Senior
Savanna Walker kept the Sugar Bears within striking distance the remainder of the half, tying her career high with a season-high 18 points. Her layup with 3:33 to play got UCA within 61-58 but that was as close as the Sugar Bears would get. A three-pointer from
Charlay Conway with 2:08 made it 65-61 but the Bearkats scored the final four points of the game.
Ibeh and the Triggs combined to go 8 of 24 from the field but did combine for 22 rebounds.
Briana Trigg had a game-high 10 boards as UCA outrebounded SHSU 39-31. UCA lost the turnover battle 20-15 with SHSU gaining 24 points off the miscues. Courtney Cleveland led the Bearkats with 20 points, one of four SHSU players in double figures. Four-time SLC Player of the Week Amber Leggett finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds, going 5 of 13 from the field.
UCA heads to Nacogdoches, Texas, on Wednesday to take on first-place and undefeated Stephen F. Austin (17-2, 9-0) at 6:30 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum.
