TULSA, Okla. – Taking on one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, the Central Arkansas women's basketball team fell to the Golden Hurricane Sunday afternoon. Unable to keep up with the Tulsa offense, the Sugar Bears fell to 4-4 on the year after dropping a 95-51 final score.
The Sugar Bears were led by
Parris Atkins, who notched her fifth game of double-digit scoring with 12 points.
Kierra Prim rebounded well throughout the game, pulling down 11 boards, including six on the offensive glass.
Kinley Fisher added nine points, notching a three-pointer for the third time in four games.
Tulsa wasted little time getting ahead, opening the game on an 11-2 run, connecting on three shots from distance in the process. Fisher knocked down a three of her own to cut the lead to six midway through the quarter, but the Golden Hurricane would use a steady diet of triples to build a 26-10 lead after ten minutes.
Atkins took over the offense in the second quarter, showing off her athleticism with drives to the cup to draw fouls and catch and shoot threes to score eight points.
Kierra Prim was active on the boards in the second, grabbing four on the offensive glass, totaling six for the quarter. She also added five points in the period, connecting on a couple of second-chance opportunities.
The second half went much the same as the first, with the Golden Hurricane starting the half with an efficient attack that the Sugar Bears just couldn't keep up with. But Central Arkansas kept fighting, scoring eight points in the paint in the third. In the fourth, the Sugar Bears locked in late, putting together an 8-0 run midway through the quarter, forcing four turnovers from the Golden Hurricane during the run. Tulsa would score just twice more from the 5:19 point on, scoring five points in the final two minutes. Already one of the country's most proficient three-point shooting teams, Tulsa finished the day hitting 15-of-26 from beyond the arc, including 7-of-11 in the second half.
For the sixth game this season, and the fifth in a row, the Sugar Bears came away with more live-ball steals than their opponents, snaring three from the Golden Hurricane, compared to just two giveaways in active play. Central Arkansas also maintained its streak of holding opponents under 10 free throws, as Tulsa hit just eight on the day.
Central Arkansas will take a week off from games for students to take finals, returning to the court next Monday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
