CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas women's basketball team had to battle right to the finish line, but closed out its third conference win with a one-point edge over Austin Peay on Saturday. The three-point shot was once again a weapon for the Sugar Bears, who shot 54 percent from beyond the arc.
Saturday's win improved the Sugar Bear's record to 11-5 with a 3-0 start to ASUN play. Two of the three conference wins come against top-three picks in the ASUN's preseason poll, having now defeated Lipscomb and now Austin Peay.
Jade Upshaw led the Sugar Bears with 19 points on just 10 shots, scoring efficiently from all over the court.
The Central Arkansas defense was smothering out of the gates, holding the Governors to three points over the first four and a half minutes. Meanwhile, the Sugar Bear offense was churning: three Sugar Bears hit three-pointers as the home team sprinted out to a 15-3 lead. The Governors fought the lead back to six points, but an Upshaw jumper with a minute left kept the lead at eight points.
Upshaw and the Sugar Bears continued to power ahead, stretching the lead to 15 in the opening minutes of the second. But Austin Peay pounded the ball inside for easy buckets, cutting the lead to nine at the midway point. Upshaw reached double-figures with a pair of free throws with 2:38 on the clock, helping the Sugar Bears go into the locker room up ten. Upshaw had 12 points,
Kinley Fisher added nine, and Central Arkansas limited the Governors to a single three-pointer and just 27 points.
But after halftime, the offense of the Sugar Bears sputtered, coming out flat while Austin Peay started to get going. Still leading by six midway through the quarter, Central Arkansas allowed an 8-3 run to let the lead slip to one.
Leah Mafua added a bucket to hold on to the lead, and Upshaw cashed in a three at the buzzer to send the game to the fourth quarter with a four point Sugar Bear lead. The Governors scored 12 of their 17 points in the paint in the third, adding three free throws to cut into the Sugar Bear lead. Central Arkansas, meanwhile, shot just 33 percent from the field and only had one free throw attempt.
The fourth quarter ground to a halt, with both teams starting out ice cold. Central Arkansas turned the ball over three-straight times to kick things off, and Austin Peay missed its first three shots, and two minutes passed before either team scored, with the Govs finally putting in a layup to trim the lead to one possession. But Central Arkansas refused to go down without a fight despite the offensive struggles, with Upshaw putting in the first Sugar Bear points near the six-minute mark, starting a 6-0 run to bump the lead back to eight. A three-pointer by the Govs with 4:15 cut the lead to five, but started a four-minute scoring drought for both teams, as the offenses traded possessions. Then, with 24 seconds left, Austin Peay converted on a four-point play to cut the lead to one, ramping up the pressure.
But having only committed one foul in the fourth quarter, Austin Peay was far from sending the Sugar Bears to the free throw line to try and get the ball back. Four times, the Sugar Bears had to inbound the ball and get fouled, finally sending
Randrea Wright to the free throw line with a chance to add to the lead. But missing both free throws with six seconds left, the Governors were forced to drive the length of the court and get a shot off, tossing up a floater from 17 feet out. Central Arkansas did a great job tracking back with the play, though, and forced the tough shot high off the glass, claiming its third conference win.
Central Arkansas improved its winning streak to four-consecutive games, and matched its win total in ASUN play with the triumph over the Governors. In addition to Upshaw's season high, Mafua and Fisher each added 12 points, with Mafua also putting up eight rebounds and five assists. More importantly to see for the Sugar Bears, the team shot 7-of-13 from three, hitting seven or more triples for the first time since early December.
The Sugar Bears are back on the road for the next two games, heading to Kentucky to face EKU on Thursday and Bellarmine on Saturday. Tip-off against the Colonels is set for 6 p.m. CT in Richmond, Ky.
