JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Down 17 points in the first half, the Sugar Bears battled back, adhering to halftime adjustments and executing enough down the stretch to steal a 56-53 win on the road over the North Florida Ospreys Thursday afternoon. The win moves Central Arkansas to 8-10 on the year, now with a 3-4 in ASUN play.
 
Hannah Langhi led the Sugar Bears in scoring with 15 points, her sixth game of double-digit scoring in her last eight appearances. Randrea Wright put up 13 of her own, adding six assists, extending her streak of games with multiple assists to five.
 
The Sugar Bears did not get off to the start they wanted, falling down 11-0 out of the blocks before Lucy Ibeh got the team on the board. Ibeh would finish the day with nine points and seven rebounds, having to battle inside for absolutely everything. Both teams went on a scoring drought before four points in the last 33 seconds of the quarter brought the Sugar Bears up to eight points in the quarter, trailing by seven points.
 
North Florida continued to put pressure on the Sugar Bears, building the lead into the second quarter. After cutting the lead back to seven points about a minute into the quarter, North Florida started a run that would eventually build the lead to 17 points, capped off by a layup with just under three minutes remaining in the half. Central Arkansas would scratch its way back in, with buckets by Lashiyah Fowler, Jayla Cody and Leah Perry inching the lead back to 12 before the halftime horn.
 
Central Arkansas shot 27 percent in the first half, struggling to get shots in the paint to fall over the wingspan of the Ospreys. Outside of hitting baskets, the team stuck around, nearly even in rebounds, assists, free throws and fouls.
 
Searching for answers coming out of halftime, The Sugar Bears changed defensive tactics, and they paid off. After forcing only five turnovers in the entire first half, Central Arkansas forced the home team into nine in the third quarter, while also holding the Ospreys to just seven points in the quarter on 30 percent shooting. On offense, Langhi put up 11 points in the quarter, mixing in jump shots from all distances, adding a triple just for good measure, cutting the lead to three with just over three minutes left on the clock.
 
Free throws the next time down the floor allowed Savanna Walker to inch the lead down to one point, with Wright and Ibeh connecting on shots to give the Sugar Bears a three-point lead heading into the fourth. Unlike the first half, Central Arkansas shot 56 percent in the third, including a pair of three-pointers from Langhi and Wright. Utilizing ball movement on the offensive end, the Sugar Bears recorded seven assists on nine field goals, getting helpers from five Sugar Bears in the process.
 
Desperate to hold onto the lead, the Sugar Bears defense stayed aggressive, contesting shots and securing defensive rebounds, giving up just one offensive rebound in the period. Cody scored five in the quarter, helping the Sugar Bears cling to the lead as the Ospreys desperately tried to reclaim the lead. It was the seniors, Walker and Carley Hudspeth, that put the icing on the cake, hitting three free throws in the last 34 seconds to build the lead to five, putting the game just out of reach of North Florida.
 
The victory marked the biggest halftime deficit overcome by the Sugar Bears, vastly eclipsing the previous season mark of six points earlier this season. Langhi notched double-digit points for the 11^th time this season and the 35^th time in her career. Wright hit the 10-point mark for the eighth time this year. The freshman also dished out at least six assists for the third time this season, coming up just one short of her career-high of seven. She is the first Sugar Bear this season, and the 15^th ASUN player, to hit 50 assists on the year.
 
Central Arkansas remains in the Sunshine state for their next game, taking on Jacksonville on Saturday. Tip-off against the Dolphins is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT.