RICHMOND, Ky. – Despite a strong start on Thursday, the Central Arkansas women's basketball team couldn't hang on against Eastern Kentucky, falling 65-58 on the road. The loss marked the first slip in the ASUN for the Sugar Bears, who carried a five-game winning streak and three-straight ASUN wins into Richmond.
 
The Sugar Bears (11-6, 3-1 ASUN) got contributions from all over the floor on both sides of the ball, but offense down the stretch became difficult to come by. Jade Upshaw led the way with 15 points and Randrea Wright added 13 of her own. Wright's 12^th point of the night put her in rare territory for the Sugar Bears, putting her past the 700 career point mark. She becomes the 12^th Sugar Bear to eclipse the mark since Central Arkansas made the jump to Division I.
 
Central Arkansas battled straight from the tip, opening the game with a layup from Upshaw. After trading a couple of buckets with the Colonels, the Sugar Bears strung together a couple of runs to build a lead: a 4-0 run stretched it to five, then a 6-0 run to close the quarter extended it to nine points after Upshaw capped it with a pair of free throws with a minute to go, ending the frame up 18-9. But defensively, it was the effort to hold the home team to 26 percent in the quarter that allowed the Sugar Bears to open up a lead. Hands were active, passes were deflected, and shots were contested from all over the place, making life difficult for the Colonels.
 
Eastern Kentucky answered the bell in the second quarter, fighting its way to the line to cut into the lead. But balanced scoring from the Sugar Bears helped maintain the advantage, with four players scoring to send Central Arkansas into the locker room with a five-point lead. Wright and Upshaw combined for 17 points in the half, and the defense held the Colonels to 28 percent from the floor.
 
The third quarter saw one critical adjustment from the home team, and the Sugar Bears had a tough time responding. The Colonels, who had been shut down in half court sets, pushed the ball with gusto, getting out in transition and forcing Central Arkansas to track down matchups in the fast-paced play. Offensively, the Sugar Bears were suddenly the team struggling to find easy looks in the half court, shooting its worst quarter of the game with a 38 percent clip. After three quarters, the score was even at 45 a side, sending the game to the final frame with everything on the line and up for grabs.
 
Central Arkansas was unable to match Eastern Kentucky's parade to the line in the fourth quarter, being outshot 10-0 from the charity stripe. Foul trouble stymied the Sugar Bears' attempt to right the ship and reclaim control of the game, but the flow of the game fell in favor of the home team. Leah Mafua scored six points in an attempt to keep her team in it, but the Colonels stretched their lead just big enough that the Sugar Bears couldn't come back.

In halfcourt defense, Central Arkansas was stifling, holding the Colonels to 49 points in non-fast break opportunities. Even moreso, hands were continually active, as the Sugar Bears came away with ten steals and six blocks. Thursday's game was the fifth time this season with ten or more steals, and the fifth game with six or more blocks. Six Sugar Bears had steals, led by Kinley Fisher's three, and three players had blocks, with Cheyenne Banks leading the way with three as well. Bree Stephens had her fourth game of multiple steals and blocks, picking up two of each, and recorded her seventh game of multiple steals and her eighth game of multiple blocks.
 
With the loss, the Sugar Bears ended their longest winning streak since 2017-18, and ended its run as one of three ASUN teams to win its first three conference games, with Central Arkansas doing so with three of its first four games against top-four preseason picks. The Sugar Bears look to bounce back on Saturday, facing Bellarmine in Louisville at 12 p.m. CT.