CONWAY, Ark. – A back-and-forth affair that had all the dramatics that an overtime game needed ended in favor of the Sugar Bears, who took a 66-61 win over Lipscomb Thursday afternoon. It continued Central Arkansas' winning streak at home, extending the Sugar Bears to 5-0 in the Farris Center.
Central Arkansas improved to 10-5 on the season, with a 2-0 start to conference.
Randrea Wright registered a team-best 17 points, scoring 13 in the second half and overtime to lift the Sugar Bears over the Bisons.
Elizabeth Abiara logged her first-career double-double, tallying ten points and ten rebounds in just 21 minutes of play. Defense was also key in the win, Central Arkansas held the Bisons to just 32 percent shooting from the floor and 19 percent from three. The Sugar Bears took down a Lipscomb team that was voted as the No. 2 team in the conference in both the preseason coaches' and media polls.
The Sugar Bears jumped out to a 7-0 run, with
Jade Upshaw starting things off with a triple and a pair of paint scores helping the home team to a hot start. But Lipscomb woke up and responded, putting together a 9-2 run of their own to get right back into the mix. Tied at 9-9 midway through the quarter, both defenses settled in, limiting the total scoring to nine total points the rest of the way, sending the Sugar Bears into the second quarter up 14-13.
Lipscomb made a push to open the second quarter, taking a three-point lead with just over six minutes to play in the first half. But Central Arkansas responded with a 6-0 run to swing it back in favor of the home team. Central Arkansas was able to build a four-point lead, but a late bucket by the Bisons kept it a one-possession game at the midway break.
Upshaw led the team with nine points at halftime, but despite the team holding Lipscomb to 32 percent shooting, the Sugar Bears couldn't quite pull away.
The third quarter continued to be a slugfest, with the lead only peaking at two possessions twice in the entire quarter.
Cheyenne Banks gave the Sugar Bears a four-point lead with just under eight minutes as part of a renewed effort to go into the paint for high-percentage buckets. And Banks came through for the home team, scoring the first four points of the third quarter for Central Arkansas. But Lipscomb kept it close, taking a one-point lead with 3:45 in the frame after a Sugar Bear turnover. The Sugar Bears responded with a 5-0 run to the end of the quarter to reclaim the lead headed to the fourth, leading 42-38.
Central Arkansas took a six-point lead on a
Kinley Fisher shot in the paint just a few minutes into the third quarter, and the Sugar Bears seemed poised to pull away. But a feisty Lipscomb team battled to stay in it, not allowing the home team to stretch the lead much further. Trailing by seven points with 2:15 to go, the Bisons hit a free throw and two three-pointers as time wound down to tie the game with seven seconds left. Central Arkansas got two looks at final shots, but neither fell, sending the Sugar Bears to their second overtime game of the season.
Overtime became the
Randrea Wright show, as the junior guard scored an old-fashioned three-point play on back-to-back possessions, putting the Sugar Bears up six with under two minutes to go. From there, rock solid defense whittled what was left of the clock, giving the Sugar Bears a gutsy win on their home floor.
The Sugar Bears remain at home for the next one, facing Austin Peay at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
