CONWAY, Ark. – Playing for the first time in 12 days, the Sugar Bears were unable to keep pace with a larger Liberty roster, falling to the Lady Flames Thursday night. The loss drops Central Arkansas to 7-14 on the year, with a 2-8 ASUN slate.
A pair of Sugar Bears scored in double-figures, led by
Randrea Wright's 11 points.
Siera Carter added 10 off the bench, hitting double-digits for the second-straight game, also leading the team with nine boards.
Kyjai Miles added seven points and eight rebounds.
Central Arkansas battled with Liberty early in the first quarter, keeping neck-and-neck with the Lady Flames for the first few minutes. Each basket by Liberty was answered in kind by the Sugar Bears, with Wright taking a one-point lead at the 6:05 mark on a driving layup. A one-possession game for most of the first quarter, the Lady Flames would finally break the lead open toward the end of the frame, taking a seven-point advantage to quarter number two.
From there, the size and numbers of Liberty started to show, with the deficit growing to double-digits. Offensive struggles began to mount for the Sugar Bears, shooting 21 percent in the frame, compared to 66 percent from the visitors. Wright finished the half with seven points, leading the Sugar Bears, as five of the seven scored in the first half.
As has been the case this season, the defense picked up in the third quarter, executing defensive adjustments in an attempt to get back in the game. Holding the Lady Flames to their lowest-scoring quarter of the game out of halftime, Central Arkansas would try to whittle the lead to something manageable, but as in the second, the offensive side of the ball continued to be a struggle.
Carter turned it on in the fourth, dashing to the cup time and time again to reach double-figures in the game, scoring six in the quarter. But despite the most efficient quarter of the game, the damage had been done, as the Sugar Bears fell in what could be the final game against Liberty, with the Lady Flames changing conferences next season.
The Sugar Bears play one more at home this week, dueling newcomer Queens on Saturday, before embarking on a three-game road trip next week. Tip-off against the Royals is set for 1 p.m.
