CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas women's basketball team defended home court again Tuesday night, stifling UT Martin and allowing just 45 points in an 11-point win. Balanced scoring was the name of the game for the Sugar Bears, as nine players scored in the victory.
The win improved the Sugar Bears to 2-1 on the year, and the team combined for nine three-pointers, the most in a single game since March of 2020. But the shots from beyond the arc weren't limited to one or two players: six Sugar Bears connected from deep, with
Jade Upshaw,
Leah Mafua and
Kinley Fisher all hitting a pair. Upshaw continued her streak of scoring in double-figures, netting 10 in the win. Seven of the nine scoring Sugar Bears tallied six or more points.
Central Arkansas got off to the hot start it desperately needed against Samford, scoring nine of the first 11 points to quickly establish the lead. By the midway point of the quarter,
Bree Stephens hit a free throw to make it an eight-point lead. And the defense was a big part of the lead: by the end of the first quarter, the Skyhawks had shot only 23 percent from the field and missed all seven three-pointers, as the Sugar Bears gave up just nine points. Central Arkansas scored 15 of their own, taking a six-point lead into the second.
The lead touched double-figures five times in the second quarter, the first of which came just minutes in on a pick-six from
Randrea Wright. The junior point guard regained her efficiency in game three, shooting better than 50 percent on 4-of-7 shooting with one three-pointer. Two possessions later, Upshaw traded three-pointers with a Skyhawk to keep the lead at 11, and
Destine Duckworth traded layups on the next possessions to make sure the lead was the same.
Stephens put the lead back in double-figures with just under three minutes to go, and a stop and score by the Sugar Bears kept it above the ten-point mark for the remainder of the half, going into the break up 33-22. Despite UT Martin collecting 10 offensive rebounds in the frame, the Skyhawks still shot just 26 percent, compared to 53 percent by Central Arkansas. With the first half in the rearview, the Skyhawks were shooting just 25 percent from the field and 5.6 percent from three, compared to 47 percent from the field and 44 percent from three for the Sugar Bears.
UT Martin made a push in the early stages of the third quarter, cutting the lead to seven by the five-minute mark. But an 8-0 run by the Sugar Bears, capped by a
Cheyenne Banks layup, doubled the lead up to 15 points, growing to 16 with a
Jenna Rose Mafua three-pointer just before the end of the quarter. The 16-point lead was the biggest of the night, as the Sugar Bears shot 4-of-9 from distance in the third.
As the fourth quarter ticked away, so too did the lead. The Skyhawks battled out a 10-0 run over the course of five minutes, cutting the lead to just six on a triple midway through the fourth. But the calming presence of the three returners took over, and a quick 5-2 run by
Kierra Prim, Wright and Fisher pushed the lead to 11 with 90 seconds remaining, and the clock would run out from there.
Despite the Sugar Bears having their worst quarter in the final stanza, the leadership of the three returners kept the team rock solid through the final buzzer, and marked the second time this season that a Sugar Bear opponent has been held to less than 50 points. Stephens was a big part of that, blocking four shots and claiming two steals. Her defensive prowess helped hold UT Martin to under 30 percent shooting from the floor.
Central Arkansas remains at home for the next game, facing off against Northwestern State on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
