KATY, Texas. – The Central Arkansas women's basketball team returned to the Leonard E. Merrell Center for a Southland Conference Semifinal matchup with Stephen F. Austin on Saturday. The Sugar Bears nearly pulled off the upset, despite being down by as many as 20. Terri Crawford led UCA with 12 points and a season-high eight rebounds.
 
Central Arkansas jumped out to an early 4-0 lead as Briana Trigg and Charlay Conway knocked down a layup and jumper, respectively. The Ladyjacks scored the game's next five points to take their first lead of the day. The two teams traded baskets until time ran out in the quarter. SFA took a 15-12 lead into the second.
 
The Ladyjacks pulled away in the second quarter as they outscored UCA, 19-4, in the stanza. The Sugar Bears' lone points were two free throws by Terri Crawford and a jumper in the paint by Hannah Langhi. SFA ended the half on a 17-0 run.
 
The Ladyjacks scored the first points of the second half and extended their lead to 20 points, the largest of the game. The Sugar Bears started getting some momentum as the quarter was winding down. The Central Arkansas attack managed to outscore SFA, 15-10, in the third quarter and cut the lead to 13, 44-31, as the game went into the fourth quarter.
 
After SFA scored the first point of the fourth on a free throw, UCA went on an 8-0 run. During the run, Crawford scored three points and added an assist. Carley Hudspeth drained a 3-pointer for the final points of the run. Stephen F. Austin hit a 3-pointer of its own and went back up nine with 4:25 left in regulation. Lucy Ibeh collected a steal and a fast-break layup to cut the deficit to seven. After a big defensive stop, Briana Trigg made a jumper in the paint and closed the gap to just five. Crawford made two clutch free throws and made it a three-point game with 2:14 left in regulation. After a layup by SFA, UCA called a timeout and advanced the ball into the front court. UCA drew up the perfect play in the timeout and executed it as Langhi found a cutting Ibeh for an easy layup. Unfortunately for the Sugar Bears, the Ladyjacks scored the game's final five points and went on to win 55-47.
 
Crawford finished with a team-high 12 points and added a season-high eight rebounds. Ibeh produced a game-high five steals and added 11 points. Hudspeth and Briana Trigg each recorded eight points. Ayanna Trigg and Langhi tied for the team lead with two blocks.
 
As a team, the Sugar Bears held the Ladyjacks to their second-fewest points on the season. UCA outscored SFA, 31-21, in the second half. The Sugar Bears held the slight advantage, 32-31, in rebounds.
 
SFA was led by Alyssa Mayfield with a game-high 16 points, which was the only player in double digits, and produced a team-high seven rebounds.  
 
From the Coach – Head Coach Sandra Rushing
"I'm so proud of this team! We fought. I'm going to miss my seniors. We were there. SFA is a great team. We missed Savanna Walker today. We missed her due to there not being an appeal process in place. It does not matter if it's Central Arkansas and Savanna Walker, or if it's SFA or Lamar, this is about student-athletes. I feel there needs to be a committee to review things. This is for future. I don't want this to happen to another student-athlete."
 
From the Players – Junior, F Terri Crawford
"We've been in this position before, down in the first half. Them being up by 18 points didn't affect us much. This was for Smooth (Savanna). I wouldn't want my point guard to go out like that. We brought the energy for her."
 
From the Players – Senior, F, Hannah Langhi
"Coming out of halftime, we all talked about it and we were like this is for Savanna. We were fighting for her. That's all I could think about during every little break. I think that gave us a lot of motivation."
 
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