KENNESAW, Ga. – History tends to repeat itself. And while it may be a new Sugar Bear team, it's the same ol' story at Kennesaw State, as the Central Arkansas women's basketball team gutted out a 67-60 win over the Owls on Saturday.
 
After a sluggish and sloppy first three quarters, the Sugar Bears were back to their controlled, confident selves in the fourth, finishing off the Owls with clutch plays and timely scores down the stretch. Jade Upshaw, Leah Mafua and Kinley Fisher all scored 13 points, but Saturday's game required important plays from every person that touched the floor, and each and every Sugar Bear came through. Upshaw, who entered the game with 99 career three-pointers, hit three of her six attempts, reaching the century mark in her third season of college ball.
 
"Our players like to win, and you can see it in the way we play. I thought Kinley remained really level-headed. Leah was really good at the end. That basket by her at the end was huge," head coach Tony Kemper said after the win. "I was talking in the huddle during the last media timeout, thinking it's very difficult to figure out who to go with when we have so many players playing well. I'm really happy with them, this is going to be a happy trip home."
 
Central Arkansas started off the game in a bit of a pickle, starting slow on offense but staying tough defensively. Fisher kept the Sugar Bears afloat with the first seven points in the first quarter, but turnovers were an issue that prevented the visitors from building any kind of momentum or lead. After the first quarter, the teams combined for ten field goals, but 12 turnovers, sending he Sugar Bears into the second with a 16-12 lead.
 
Turnovers continued to be a factor in the second quarter, but the defensive intensity of the Owls added the factor of tough shots to the equation. Shooting only 23 percent from the floor, the Sugar Bears let the lead slip, and 13 points in the second from the Owls allowed the home team to lead by one at the break. Upshaw, Mafua and Fisher combined for 17 of the team's 24 points in the first half, but the Sugar Bears had 14 turnovers after 20 minutes of play.
 
The three-pointers finally started falling in the third quarter, with two finding the bottom of the net in an early 8-2 run to start the frame. Despite the lead never growing more than five, the Sugar Bears seemed to be reeling in control of the game, fighting through even more turnovers and staying active defensively. But even after hitting four three-pointers and shooting 50 percent from the floor in the third, offensive rebounds by the Owls were converted into six second chance points, which allowed the home team to hang around. Coupled with eight points on seven Central Arkansas turnovers, the Owls and Sugar Bears went to the fourth quarter all even at 42.
 
Randrea Wright started the fourth quarter with an easy layup, blowing by her defender and finding herself all alone at the rim. The score was matched on the other end, but Central Arkansas would start to creep ahead in the early minutes of the frame after back-to-back scores by Mafua and Bree Stephens. Down two, Kennesaw State hit one of their two triples in the fourth quarter, taking the lead back. The Owls stretched it to four points, threatening to seize control after splashing another triple. Inbounding the ball, Wright calmly executed the offense, sprung open for a three of her own and buried it, taking the wind out of the Owls' sails.
 
Wright would tack on another layup two possessions later to give the Sugar Bears the lead back for the final time. In addition to two more paint scores and a pair of free throws from Central Arkansas, the defense clamped down, holding the Owls without a point for the final 2:10. Wright's leadership and ability to stay calm under the pressure of Kennesaw's full court press were critical in closing the game out, despite only seven points from the junior. She scored all seven in the fourth, and was a major catalyst in the Sugar Bears shooting 75 percent in the final frame. After committing 21 turnovers in the first three quarters, Central Arkansas coughed it up just once in the fourth, eliminating one of Kennesaw's greatest strengths as the team pulled ahead.
 
"Randrea's electric. If you can get her some space and a little bit of a runway, it's really hard to stay in front of her," Kemper said of his point guard. "With her, it comes in bunches, and she hit a MASSIVE three there in the fourth. She kind of took over there to help us close it out, and she was great."
 
With the win, Central Arkansas stays in the second spot in the ASUN, trailing only the undefeated Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast. The Sugar Bears head home for the next two, playing Jacksonville and Northt Florida in the Farris Center next week.