FLORENCE, Ala. – Nearly completing a double-digit comeback, the Sugar Bears fought to the final buzzer but came up short against North Alabama, falling 63-58 on Monday.
The loss drops Central Arkansas to 8-15 on the year, with a 3-9 ASUN slate.
Siera Carter was a one-man wrecking crew, setting a new season-high with 23 points, with 18 coming in the second half. Carter used her athleticism, driving ability and shots off the bounce to create and attack mismatches throughout the second half to get Central Arkansas back into the game.
Kierra Prim, another tremendous athlete capable of attacking mismatches, added 19 points and nine boards, keeping the Sugar Bears afloat in the first half with nine points.
North Alabama came out guns blazing in the first quarter, connecting on four three-pointers right out of the gate to blitz the Sugar Bears. But the Sugar Bears tried to fight back, with driving layups from
Kinley Fisher and Prim getting Central Arkansas on the board. But without an answer for the long ball, Central Arkansas found itself trailing by 12 after the first.
Coming into the second quarter with more focus on the game plan, the athleticism of the Sugar Bears started to show through. Attacking the paint with reckless abandon, the Sugar Bears started parading to the free throw line, earning trips that halted any momentum the Lions had from the first. Shooting 11 freebies in the quarter and drawing eight fouls overall, Central Arkansas was able to whittle into the lead, trimming four points off the margin from the line. Additionally, the Sugar Bear defense kept shooters from getting clean looks, holding the Lions without a triple in the second. Carter and Prim, meanwhile, combined for ten points in the quarter to trim the halftime deficit to single-digits, 21-28.
Carter started cooking in the third quarter, attacking smaller, slower guards with deft drives and smart step-back jumpers. En route to nine points in the frame, Carter and the Sugar Bears outpaced North Alabama, outscoring the home team 18-13, cutting the deficit all the way down to one. The Lions, for their part, only stayed in the game shooting 11-for-11 at the line in the third; North Alabama shot 1-of-14 from the field, just seven percent. The Sugar Bears seemingly suffocated entire possessions on defense, forcing bad shots and defending the paint with incredible effort.
Central Arkansas finally took a lead after battling back in the fourth quarter, with Carter cashing in a stepback jumper with 8:43 left in the fourth. But the lead never got very large, peaking at six with 4:53 remaining, also courtesy of Carter's jumpshot. Back-to-back threes by the Lions, however, tied the game and significantly swung momentum back to the home team. From there, North Alabama would hang on for the win.
The road trip continues for the Sugar Bears, who swing up north to the Bluegrass State for the weekend, facing Bellarmine on Thursday before facing Eastern Kentucky on Saturday.
