CONWAY, Ark. – Make it four in a row! The Central Arkansas women's basketball team picked up a fourth-consecutive win, and a third-straight at home, downing the Little Rock Trojans 53-49 in overtime Saturday afternoon. The victory came on a day of celebration for the Sugar Bears, who honored their all-time winningest coach Ron Marvel at halftime.
 
Guard play was key in this one, as Randrea Wright, Kayla Mitchell and Parris Atkins all scored in double-figures in the win. Wright led the way with 16, with Atkins adding 14 and Mitchell netting 10. In the extra period, Wright and Mitchell were huge for the Sugar Bears, scoring all 10 points to seal the deal.
 
With both teams being historically strong defensively, every possession was going to be key for both sides. This fact became evident straight away, as the first three possessions ended in turnovers, with the sides combining for 14 miscues in the opening period. Yet, when the dust settled, the duo of Wright and Mitchell got the offense started, with Wright putting a Trojan defender in the blender for the first basket of the game, then following it up with another dart into the paint. Mitchell added a drive of her own, helping the Sugar Bears to a 6-2 lead midway through the first. Little Rock would find a rhythm of its own, eventually leading 12-11 after ten minutes of play.
 
The Trojan lead would remain a single possession for the bulk of the second quarter, as the team traded baskets; neither side would score consecutive hoops until the Sugar Bears put together a 7-0 run to reclaim the lead and stretch it to four on a Kinley Fisher three-pointer. The lead eventually ran to five points with just over a minute remaining in the quarter, before the Trojans ended the half with a basket with 16 seconds left, sending the Sugar Bears to the locker room up 24-21. By holding Little Rock to nine points in the quarter, it marked the fifth quarter this season that the Sugar Bears have held an opponent under 10 points.  
 
At the break, Atkins was the team's leading scorer, having notched six in the second, raising her game total to eight points in the first half. Central Arkansas, who has struggled finding the bottom of the net at times, shot 55 percent in the first half, leaving few opportunities for offensive rebounds, which had been a staple for the Sugar Bears in previous games. Against the Trojans, shots were falling at an efficient clip, leaving nary a chance for offensive rebounds.
 
Central Arkansas came out of the break with a sense of urgency, taking a small lead and exerting a will to grow it. Leading by three, the Sugar Bears scored seven-straight to stretch the lead to 10, capped by Fisher's second triple of the game. In the process, the team held Little Rock scoreless for the first 5:10 of the second half. With a more secure lead, the back-and-forth game continued, as the lead was trimmed back to single digits. Wright would finish the quarter with another basket in the paint to keep the margin at six for the final period.
 
The offense sputtered in the final period of regulation, which allowed Little Rock to get back into it. Though the Sugar Bears never relinquished the lead, the Trojans were able to tie the game with under a minute left, sending the game to overtime.
 
But overtime was all Sugar Bears. After winning the tip, Central Arkansas played like it had been in a million close games; Wright and Mitchell kept the ball moving, twisting and turning and eventually finding open jumpers, which the duo knocked down. The pair outscored Little Rock 10-6 in the extra period, shooting a combined 5-of-6 to finish off the Trojans.
 
With the win, Central Arkansas snaps a three-game losing streak against the Trojans, and earns another win in the tally for the Governor's I-40 Showdown. Now with four wins in a row, the Sugar Bears have held four-straight opponents under 42 percent shooting, while also hitting a season-best 49 percent of their own shots.
 
Next up, the Sugar Bears head back to Mississippi to take on Alcorn State, after the original date was postponed for inclement weather. Tip-off against the Braves is set for 2 p.m. in Lorman, Miss.