LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A lockdown second half from the Central Arkansas women's basketball team earned the Sugar Bears a 55-41 win over the Bellarmine Knights Wednesday night. Double-doubles from Hannah Langhi and Lucy Ibeh powered the way offensively, marking the first-ever ASUN win for the Sugar Bears.
 
"I thought the bench played really well tonight," head coach Sandra Rushing said of the win. "They brought energy and did what they were asked to do, and they turned the momentum for us."
 
Ibeh came away with a game-high 20 points, pairing it with 10 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. Langhi, back in her home-state and with family in the crowd, stuffed the statsheet with a season-best 17 points, a season-high 13 rebounds, four assists and a career-high five blocked shots.
 
Despite the offensive numbers from the two post players, the real story came on the defensive end for the Sugar Bears, who had seven players with a takeaway, forcing 17 turnovers from the Knights. Additionally, after falling behind in the first quarter, Central Arkansas hunkered down defensively, holding the home team to three-straight quarters of sub-25 percent shooting, not allowing double-digits from Bellarmine after the first quarter.
 
The opening quarter was a neck-and-neck affair, as the teams traded baskets for the better part of the opening stanza, each side matching the other shot for shot. With a couple of three-pointers during the quarter, Bellarmine took a four-point lead after one despite six points and four boards from Ibeh and three blocks from Langhi.
 
Even though shots weren't falling for the Sugar Bears in the second, the defense started to settle in, reading and anticipating the Knights and forcing Bellarmine into tough shots. Central Arkansas came within a basket multiple times during the quarter, including on jumpers from Ibeh and Gloria Fornah. The Knights, to their credit, kept battling through and keeping the Sugar Bears on the defensive, scoring the last basket of the quarter to take a five-point, 23-18 lead into the break.
 
 After the intermission, Central Arkansas started to feel the momentum shift in its favor. Bellarmine opened the third with a split pair of free throws before the Sugar Bears stormed back with a 6-0 run to tie it up at 24-apiece. Trading buckets again, UCA finally broke through to take the lead on a Savanna Walker freebie with 4:07 left in the third. Again and again, it became a slugfest, each team battling through to reclaim the lead, only to lose it before being able to take control. With 24 seconds left in the third, Carley Hudspeth knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Sugar Bears a three-point lead entering the fourth.
 
Central Arkansas opened the fourth quarter with a grinding, drawn-out, 8-0 run over six grueling minutes to extend the lead to double-figures for the first time on the night. From there, the lead grew to as many as 19 points before finally settling at 14 by the final buzzer.
 
The defensive effort marked the fifth game holding an opponent under 50 points this season, each of them resulting in wins. Central Arkansas holds a 1-1 ASUN record entering a four-game home stand over the next eight days.
 
Up next for the Sugar Bears is the first ASUN home game of the season, starting the home slate on Saturday with North Alabama. Tip-off against the Lions is set for 1 p.m. at the Farris Center.