RICHMOND, Ky. – Not the first impression the Sugar Bears wanted for their ASUN debut against Eastern Kentucky, but Central Arkansas kept it close for three quarters, letting a 61-46 final score slip away in the fourth on Wednesday. Though active hands helped the Sugar Bears to their fourth game of 10-plus steals this season, points off turnovers ultimately cost Central Arkansas as the Colonels were able to pull away late.
Lucy Ibeh led the way with 17 points and 14 rebounds, logging her sixth double-double of the season. She extended a streak of double-figure scoring on the night as well, notching her fourth-straight game of double-digit points.
Randrea Wright picked some pockets on the evening, coming away with a career-best five steals, the most by a Sugar Bear this season.
Central Arkansas jumped out to a lead early, scoring the first six points while forcing a pair of early turnovers from the Colonels. After hanging onto the lead for the bulk of the first quarter, a flurry of three-pointers helped Eastern Kentucky claim the lead by the end of the period.
Making some quarter-break adjustments, the Sugar Bears tightened up some screws defensively, retaking a 20-19 lead with 3:04 left in the first half. Ibeh reached double-figures in the quarter, dropping her tenth point on a free throw with 59 second left. The Lagos, Nigeria native also came down with nine rebounds in the first 20 minutes, willing Central Arkansas through scoring droughts and keeping the Sugar Bears afloat. Just as in the first quarter, the Colonels made a run at the end of the quarter to reclaim the lead, taking a five-point, 30-25 advantage into half.
The turnovers started to come back to haunt the Sugar Bears in the second half, halting each attempt at a comeback by the Sugar Bears. Central Arkansas cut the lead to a basket on a jumper from
Hannah Langhi, but three-straight scores helped the Colonels push the lead back to eight.
Randrea Wright connected on a triple to bring it back to three, but a 5-0 run to end the quarter stymied the Sugar Bears by the buzzer once again.
EKU finally broke into a double-digit lead in the fourth, hitting a pair of three-pointers and seven free throws to pull ahead. The Sugar Bears collected six offensive rebounds in the quarter but couldn't find the bottom of the net enough to complete a comeback.
Leah Perry came in for the closing minutes, snaring four rebounds in just six minutes, including three of the six offensive rebounds.A bright spot for the team, Central Arkansas shot 12-of-15 from the charity stripe, the third time this season the Sugar Bears have shot 80-plus percent from the free throw line.
Central Arkansas turns now to its home-opener in ASUN play, as the Sugar Bears host Lipscomb on Saturday. A double-header with the men's team, the Sugar Bears start the day with tip-off against the Bisons at 1 p.m. at the Farris Center.
