CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas women's basketball team capped the 2022 calendar year dropping a heartbreaker to Alabama A&M on Thursday. Playing the final non-conference game of the season against the Lady Bulldogs, the 53-51 final score sends the Sugar Bears to the ASUN portion of the calendar on a slight downswing. The loss moves Central Arkansas to 5-6 on the year as the team looks ahead to conference play.
 
Freshman Parris Atkins set a new career-high in the loss, scoring 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting, adding a three-pointer and a perfect day at the line. Randrea Wright and Kierra Prim joined Atkins in double-figures, scoring 13 points apiece. Kinley Fisher came away with three steals in the fourth quarter, posting a season-best in a matter of minutes.
 
Central Arkansas got off to a slow start, trailing 10-2 in the early goings of the first quarter before fighting back into it. Prim and Kayla Mitchell were keys to getting back on track, combining for eight points in the first. Mitchell cashed a midrange jump shot as the horn signaled the end of the quarter to get the deficit back to three, falling away as time expired before the ball snapped the net.
 
The Sugar Bears gained a small advantage on the scoreboard in the second quarter, as the home team started getting into the personal space of the Lady Bulldogs, forcing five turnovers in the frame. On offense, Prim and Atkins paired bucket after bucket to pick up 10 points for Central Arkansas. If not for a bevy of free throws for the Lady Bulldogs, who hit 7-of-8 in the period, the Sugar Bears' defense would have made life easy for the offense, but the Sugar Bears trailed 28-26 at halftime.
 
After seven minutes of back and forth play in the third quarter, the Sugar Bears finally put the clamps on Alabama A&M, holding the visitors scoreless for the final three minutes and swaying momentum back to the home team. Using that energy, Central Arkansas built a five-point lead by the end of the quarter, with Wright burying a couple of free throws to end the quarter with Central Arkansas out in front 43-38. After giving up eight freebies to the Lady Bulldogs in the second, they took zero foul shots in the third, compared to ten by the Sugar Bears.
 
Seemingly in command, Central Arkansas built on the lead over the course of the bulk of the fourth quarter, eventually stretching the lead to nine points with just under three and a half minutes left to play. But Alabama A&M wasn't done fighting, hitting tough shots down the stretch to end the game on an 11-0 run, stealing the game from the Sugar Bears. On a brighter note, the Sugar Bears committed just eight turnovers, showing poise and patience against the Lady Bulldogs' pressure.
 
Up next, Central Arkansas prepares to take on its second season as a member of the ASUN, starting at home against Jacksonville State on Monday. Tipping off at 5:30 p.m., the Sugar Bears and Gamecocks will take the court in Conway for the first time as ASUN opponents.