DELAND, Fla. – After staying close throughout the first half, a cold second half for the Central Arkansas women's basketball team prevented a comeback against Stetson on Thursday. The Sugar Bears battled through foul trouble all evening against the Hatters, and the free throw discrepancy created the difference.
Kinley Fisher matched a career-high with 14 points, carrying the offense in the first half to keep the Sugar Bears in it.
Randrea Wright hit double-figures in the second half, finishing the game with 10.
Kyjai Miles and
Kierra Prim combined for 17 rebounds, including seven on the offensive glass.
The offenses were even through the midway point of the first quarter, battling to 6-6 after four minutes. Fisher took the lead on the next possession, and the Sugar Bears took a 10-7 lead by the media timeout. From there, Stetson finished the frame on a 9-3 run, taking a three-point lead after one.
Fisher went off in the second quarter, scoring ten points on 5-of-7 shooting, bringing her first-half total to 14 points. Shorthanded and needing a spark, Fisher, running the point, willed herself into open midrange jumpers, cashing in time and time again. But try as she might, the Hatters stayed afloat, scoring from inside the paint and beyond the arc to edge the lead a little further, owning a 35-27 lead at the midway point.
It was Wright's turn to turn up the heat in the third quarter, mounting a single-handed comeback through the opening minutes out of halftime. On three-straight possessions, Wright ducked under screens, or drove through traffic, or slid into the paint to find acrobatic shots, scoring six points to cut the lead to just a basket. But just when the momentum seemed to be in the Sugar Bears' favor, the whistle would blow and take the wind out of their sails. Stetson was able to keep in the game at the foul line; shooting just 1-for-8 from the field, the Hatters went to the line and hit 7-of-8, compared to just five attempts for the Sugar Bears. Stetson was able to hold on in the fourth, edging the lead to 10 before the final buzzer.
Central Arkansas shot 19-of-42 inside the three-point line, good for 45 percent. Despite a bad night from beyond the arc and at the line, the paint and midrange buckets were kind to the Sugar Bears. Especially in the first half, Central Arkansas was 13-of-19 from two-point range, a blistering 68 percent.
The Sugar Bears will remain on the road for the next game, staying in Florida for a Saturday game against Florida Gulf Coast. Tip-off against the Eagles is set for 7 p.m. in Fort Myers.
