NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With hosting rights on the line, the Central Arkansas women's basketball team was unable to find the finishing touches against Lipscomb. Despite leading for much of the first three quarters, an offensive slump at the worst possible time allowed the Bisons to edge out a late lead.
 
With the final result, the Sugar Bears end the season the 5-Seed in the ASUN West, meaning that Central Arkansas will travel to the 4-Seed in the East, which is Jacksonville University. So the Sugar Bears will go back to Jacksonville, Fla., for a date with the Dolphins next Wednesday for the first round of the ASUN Championship.
 
In a historical moment for the program, Hannah Langhi checked in at the 7:27 mark of the first quarter, marking her 133^rd career appearance. She surpassed former Sugar Bear Micah Rice as the all-time leader in games played in Purple and Gray.
 
Randrea Wright was the high scorer for Central Arkansas, netting 14 points while dishing a team high four assists. Carley Hudspeth also hit double-figures, scoring 11 points with a pair of three pointers, including one late that cut a lead to two points. Lucy Ibeh, while not the greatest offensive game of her career, pulled down 14 rebounds before fouling out.
 
Central Arkansas started off with an incredible amount of defensive intensity, jumping out to a 9-1 lead with under four minutes left in the first quarter. It took Lipscomb nearly seven and a half minutes to record a field goal, having just one point for 7:16. From there, three-pointers on back-to-back possessions cut the lead to four. With another field goal in the waning seconds, what was once an eight-point lead was down to one at the end of the quarter.
 
Neither team grabbed a hold of the momentum in the second quarter, as the scoring went back-and-forth. The biggest run of the period was five points for the Sugar Bears, as Langhi and Hudspeth hit shots on consecutive possessions. Ibeh had nine rebounds by the end of the half, but just couldn't take the lid off of the basket. As the story went in the first quarter, three-pointers allowed the Bisons to keep in it, as Lipscomb connected on a pair in the second to trim the lead to one at the halftime buzzer, 22-21.
 
Wright caught fire in the third, accounting for eight of Central Arkansas' 14 points. With the defenses making halftime adjustments, the Bisons were packing the paint, leaving Wright's midrange jumper open. Capitalizing on the open looks, the freshman guard canned 4-of-6 in the third, reaching double-figures for the 12^th time this season. But as much as Wright was hitting, so too was Lipscomb connecting in the paint. The teams mirrored one another in the quarter, each hitting seven field goals, with no three-pointers and no free throws, maintaining the nail-biter through the end of three quarters.
 
Despite holding Lipscomb without a field goal for the final 8:48, the Bisons were able to secure enough free throws down the stretch, hitting 10 in the frame, to sneak out a win. Hudspeth had six points in the fourth, including her second three-pointer of the day to cut the lead to two, but late game shots didn't fall for the Sugar Bears.
 
The Sugar Bears turn now to their first postseason as a member of the ASUN, facing Jacksonville next Wednesday. As the 4-Seed in the East, Jacksonville earned the right to host the 5-Seed in the West, which fell to the Sugar Bears. Last time the teams faced back in January, Jacksonville stole one from Central Arkansas, erasing a double-digit lead and hitting a buzzer-beater to take the win.