FLORENCE, Ala. – They say winning on the road is hard. They say winning conference games is hard. Saturday, the Central Arkansas women's basketball team made it look pretty easy, cruising to an 83-62 win over North Alabama.
It was a complete team effort that saw contributions up and down the roster, lifting the Sugar Bears to 9-5 on the year with a 1-0 start to ASUN play.
Kinley Fisher set a career-high with 24 points, shooting 8-for-12 from the floor with three triples while powering the way as a game-best +31.
Randrea Wright added 16,
Jade Upshaw and
Destine Duckworth each had 13, and
Kierra Prim finished with 11 points of her own. The win also marked the most points in an ASUN game for Central Arkansas, who opened its third season in the conference against the Lions.
The first quarter was about as even as any, with both sides scoring back and forth over the first frame. The game was tied at sixes, then again at tens, and every punch was countered and responded to in kind. Fisher gave the Sugar Bears their first lead of the night with a fast break layup at the four minute mark, a lead that would stretch to five with under a minute to play. The Lions connected on a layup as time wound down in the opening period to cut the lead to three, but the Central Arkansas offense was feeling good. Despite not hitting a three-pointer in the first, the Sugar Bears shot 9-of-12 from inside the arc, a 75 percent clip that was going to be tough to keep up with for the Lions.
Duckworth kept the offense moving in the opening minutes of the second, scoring four points over the first 90 seconds to boost the lead to seven. The lead would hover there over the next six minutes, as Wright and Prim buoyed the offense with the next seven points. The pair simply dominated defenders with athleticism and quick-twitch moves, getting to the rim with ease and either finishing layups or getting to the free throw line. But with 2:43 on the clock, UNA made its push, putting up an 8-0 run to storm back and take a one-point lead. Upshaw hit a midrange jumper to stem the bleeding, eventually hitting a three at the halftime buzzer to lift the advantage back to six at the break.
Wright and Upshaw led the team with nine points apiece at halftime, with Duckworth scoring eight of her own. The Sugar Bears shot 45 percent from the floor while holding the Lions to just 38 percent.
Coming out of halftime, Central Arkansas needed to make few adjustments, perhaps the largest being closing out on shooters after allowing five first half three-pointers. And the lead danced around five for the first several minutes, before the defense closed its jaws and locked up the Lions. Leading by four with just under seven minutes to play, the Sugar Bears embarked on a 15-3 run over the next three minutes, blowing open the lead to 16 points and sending the Sugar Bear bench into a frenzy. Though North Alabama was able to trim it to 11 points by the end of the third, momentum was squarely in favor of the road team. The Lions shot just 27 percent from the field in the frame, and if not for eight free throws, the lead would have been even more insurmountable.
North Alabama scored the first basket of the fourth to cut the lead back to single digits, but that would be the last time the lead would be that small. A 12-0 run in response from the Sugar Bears ballooned the advantage up past 20, and the Lions could find no respite from any rotation or substitution package. Before it was over, Central Arkansas shot 57 percent in the fourth quarter, with Fisher hitting all four of her field goals, including a three and a free throw, matching the Lions all by herself with ten points. After a narrow first half, the Sugar Bears showed up and showed out in the second, outscoring the home team 44-29 and holding the Lions to 30 percent shooting.
A number of Sugar Bears also reached personal milestones in the game, reaching scoring marks en route to assisting Central Arkansas sit atop the league after every team has played at least one game. With her 13 points, Upshaw reached 500 career points, having played her first two seasons at Arkansas State. Fisher eclipsed 400 points with her offensive explosion, and Duckworth passed the 100 point mark, reaching the number with her best game in Purple and Gray.
The Sugar Bears continue their season at home for the next two games, facing ASUN foes Lipscomb and Austin Peay next week.
