FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Despite hitting ten three-pointers and winning the second and fourth quarters, the Central Arkansas women's basketball team fell 81-67 in Fayetteville, Ark. The Sugar Bears scored the most points against the Hogs since renewing the series, breaking the 60-point mark for the first time in four tries.
Despite the loss dropping the Sugar Bears to 2-2 on the year, there was a lot to be positive about following Monday's game. Four players scored in double-figures, led by
Jade Upshaw's 16 points.
Randrea Wright poured in 14 points on 50 percent shooting,
Kinley Fisher added 11 points with three triples, and
Bree Stephens scored 10 of her own. The ten triples were the most by a Sugar Bear team since the 2017-18 season.
After trading opening buckets, the Razorbacks opened up a 15-2 run to open up the lead. Back-to-back three-pointers from Stephens and Fisher closed the gap to seven, but free throws to close the quarter had the Hogs up double-figures after the opening stanza.
The teams battled back and forth in the second frame, with the lead slowly growing over the first five minutes. With three minutes left, the lead grew as much as 20, but the Sugar Bears got back to work to close out the half. Free throws by
Cheyenne Banks started a 12-0 run, one that would see four Sugar Bears score, including five points from Stephens. Central Arkansas forced a pair of turnovers and five missed field goals in the final three minutes to end the period, sending the Sugar Bears into the locker room with momentum despite trailing 41-33.
But coming out of halftime, the Razorbacks were allowed to make a parade to the free throw line, utilizing the advantage to build the lead back out. When the Sugar Bears were in the flow of the offense, the ball moved and clean shots were available, but the inability to settle into a flow essentially stopped the Sugar Bears from closing the gap.
Central Arkansas put on a show in the fourth quarter, determined not to go down without a fight. Racking up 24 points, the Sugar Bears punched back in the final frame, led by Wright's 12 points. The junior point guard shot 4-for-4 from the field, including a triple midway through the quarter to cut the lead to the smallest of the quarter. But the lead was just too much for Central Arkansas, who finished the game outscoring the home team in the fourth. Upshaw and Wright were the only players, on either side, to score in double-figures in the second half, shouldering 22 of the 34 points for the Sugar Bears.
Monday's 67 points were the most scored by a Central Arkansas team since reopening the series in 2020. The 81 points by the Hogs were the second-fewest scored by Arkansas, and the Sugar Bears held the Razorbacks' Taliah Scott, who is sixth in the country in scoring, to 17 points on 41 percent shooting, holding her without a triple in the contest.
The Sugar Bears remain on the road for the next five games, starting with a Thanksgiving trip to Denver, Colorado. While in Mile High, Central Arkansas will play Denver and Nevada over the weekend.
