CONWAY, Ark. – Using a strong first half, the Sugar Bears basketball team close out a four-game home-stand by capturing their first home win of the ASUN era, defeating North Alabama 61-53 on Monday. Opening each half with stifling defense, Central Arkansas held the Lions to a pair of single-digit-scoring quarters, allowing the visitors to shoot just 34 percent on the day.
Hannah Langhi led all scorers with season-highs of 18 points and 15 rebounds, claiming her second double-double of the season.
Lucy Ibeh picked up her eighth double-double of the year with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The Sugar Bears punished North Alabama on the glass, outrebounding the Lions 48-32, including 17 offensive rebounds totaling 19 second-chance points.
Central Arkansas opened the game with a stranglehold defensively. Playing a team that likes to shoot the three-ball, the Sugar Bears closed out on shooters and forced the UNA guards to put the ball on the floor, allowing only two attempts from beyond the arc. Funneling drivers into the lane, the length of UCA's post players contested everything at the rim, holding the Lions to just 23 percent shooting, managing only six points in the first quarter. Offensively, the Sugar Bears scored 14 of their 17 points in the paint, muscling inside for easy buckets at the tin.
The lead continued to grow for much of the second quarter, as the Sugar Bear defense continued to keep a stranglehold on the Lions. Langhi, pulling down five rebounds in the quarter, reached 10 points and 10 rebounds before halftime, ultimately ending the half with 14 points and 11 rebounds. After calling timeout twice in the stanza, the Lions finally woke up, rattling off a 15-6 run in the closing minutes of the first half to cut the lead to eight, 34-26.
Reinvigorated on the defensive end, the Sugar Bears clamped back down in the third period, again forcing the Lions into low-percentage shots and contesting three-pointers. Central Arkansas scored on the first possession of the half, reestablishing a double-digit lead that would remain for the entirety of the quarter. North Alabama would shoot seven threes in the quarter, but the tight cover of the Sugar Bears kept hands in the faces of shooters, holding the Lions to just one of seven from beyond the arc in the third. Ibeh got going in the quarter, scoring five points to go along with five rebounds, putting her in the double-double club with Langhi. The duo had double-doubles in the second game this season, after accomplishing the feat against Bellarmine earlier in the month.
From there, the Sugar Bears would close out the game, allowing the lead to slip below double-digits, but never allowing the game to get closer than eight points.
Jayla Cody tallied her fourth game of the season with double-digit scoring, putting up 10 points on a series of drop steps and baby hook shots. Reigning ASUN Freshman of the Week
Randrea Wright added eight points and five assists, hitting a handful of helpers for the third time this season.
After falling behind 4-3 with 8:21 left in the first quarter, the Sugar Bears reclaimed the lead on their next possession, never trailing again. In all, Central Arkansas led for more than 39 minutes, leading by as many as 19 in the fourth quarter. Additionally, the Sugar Bears turned in another game where turnovers weren't a factor. After committing only nine on Saturday, Central Arkansas posted just 11 on Monday, tied for the second-fewest of the season. Pair that with the second-most assists the Sugar Bears have had all season, 18, and the Sugar Bears turn in their best assist-to-turnover ratio of the season, 1.63 assists per turnover.
The Sugar Bears are back on the road after closing their home-stand with a win. The team heads to Florida, with matchups against North Florida and Jacksonville looming on the horizon. Tip-off against the Ospreys is on Thursday at 4 p.m. CT, followed by a Saturday showdown with the Jacksonville Dolphins.
