CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas women's basketball team fell in its return to the Farris Center, dropping a 64-53 final score to Austin Peay Thursday night. Playing the second-ranked Governors, the Sugar Bears fall to 6-11 on the year and 1-5 in ASUN play.
Kinley Fisher continued her strong play, putting up a career-high 16 points with four three-pointers.
Randrea Wright also dropped 16 points, netting 10 in the second half as the Sugar Bears tried to make a comeback.
Gloria Fornah also scored a career-best, scoring nine on a very efficient 4-for-5 from the field.
The first quarter could not have been more back-and-forth, with neither team building more than a two-point lead in the entire ten minutes.
Kierra Prim helped the Bears early, scoring four of the first six Sugar Bear points, but the Governors took a 12-10 lead into the second quarter. The score was dead-even five times in the first frame, as every bucket was answered before either side could take control.
Austin Peay started to creep away in the second, packing the paint and utilizing the free throw line to build a lead. Despite Fisher hitting a pair of threes in the period, eight free throws from the Governors allowed the visitors to hold a nine-point lead at the break. Central Arkansas' scoring was pretty even across the roster, with six Sugar Bears in the books, but a 10-2 advantage at the charity stripe kept Austin Peay ahead.
Coming out of the break, the defense locked in, keeping the Governors off the line and away from the three-point line. Giving up just 12 points, Central Arkansas was able to cut into the lead thanks to a rampage from Wright, who scored seven points in the frame. Using a plethora of drives and pump fakes, the sophomore guard willed the Sugar Bears back into the game, cutting the lead to four as the game went to the final quarter. Austin Peay coughed the ball up six times in the third, compared to just one miscue from the home team, which favored the Sugar Bears to the tune of six points off of turnovers.
Fornah started the fourth quarter with a pick-six, deflecting a pass, running it down, and taking it the length of the court for a layup to cut the lead to two, but an 8-0 run by Austin Peay provided enough cushion for the rest of the way. Fisher canned a pair of threes midway through the quarter to edge the deficit to five, but ten free throws by the Governors gave them enough life to hold on to the lead.
Central Arkansas took much better care of the ball than the Governors on Thursday, committing just 13 turnovers all game, compared to the 21 giveaways from Austin Peay. But where winning the turnover battle normally helps teams stay ahead, free throws became a deciding factor in this one. With foul counts nearly identical, Austin Peay connected on 20 freebies, as opposed to just seven for the Sugar Bears.
Up next, Central Arkansas remains at home on Saturday, taking on Lipscomb at the Farris Center. Gametime against the Bisons is set for 1 p.m., with Lipscomb sitting at 5-1 in ASUN play.
