CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas women's basketball team is back on the road until the New Year, starting with a Saturday showdown at Northwestern State. Playing the return trip after hosting the Lady Demons last season, tip-off in Natchitoches, Louisiana is set for 1 p.m.
The Sugar Bears (5-2) again claimed a home win in their last showing, gutting out a solid win over Little Rock last Saturday. The 55-42 final score doesn't quite indicate how close the game was. For nearly 37 minutes, neither side built more than a two-possession lead, but then a burst at the end by Central Arkansas allowed the home side to pull away. It keeps a perfect streak of home games alive in the regular season over the last two years, and including postseason, the Sugar Bears are 18-1 in the Farris Center since
Tony Kemper returned as head coach.
Central Arkansas was led by a pair of 18-point performances from
Kinley Fisher and
Jade Upshaw, who completely took over much of the fourth quarter.
Leah Mafua helped ice the game in the final minute with back-to-back blocked shots and a 5-0 burst of her own.
The trio continues to lead the Sugar Bears in scoring, with all three averaging double-digits this year. Upshaw leads the team with 16.7 points per game, followed by Fisher's 13.3 and Mafua's 10.3. Upshaw is also tied with
Elizabeth Abiara for team-lead on the glass, each pulling in 5.6 boards per game. Mafua leads the team with ten steals, and Fisher leads the team, and the ASUN, shooting 92.3 percent from the charity stripe, with 24 makes through seven games.
Last season's matchup with the Lady Demons was part of the 12-0 home run during the regular season. Central Arkansas took a 75-57 win in the Farris Center, and the usual suspects were putting in their usual work. Mafua led the team with 18 points, one of four Sugar Bears in double-figures. Fisher had 14 points, Upshaw and
Randrea Wright had 12 each, and Central Arkansas had ten steals, compared to just nine turnovers.
This year, the Lady Demons are 3-5, with wins over Champion Christian, Arkansas Baptist and Southern-New Orleans. Last time out, NSU fell 48-46 to Incarnate Word, falling to 0-1 in Southland play. After tying the game with 28 seconds left, Northwestern State gave up a jumper at the buzzer to drop their Southland opener. Vernell Atamah and Mya Blake each had 15 points to lead the team, with Blake adding 12 rebounds, but the Lady Demons made just one three-pointer en route to the loss.
Blake and Atamah have been the primary scorers all season for NSU, averaging 15.3 and 13.3 points per game, respectively. But more important to the Lady Demons has been the defense; NSU allows just 57 points per game, holding opponents to 26 percent shooting from three on only 3.5 makes per game. Blake leads the team with 18 steals, while Jasmin Dixon tops the roster with ten blocked shots. Overall, the Lady Demons average just over ten steals and four blocks per game, forcing more than 20 turnovers per contest.
Tip-off against NSU is set for 1 p.m. down in Natchitoches. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available. Fans can also follow the action on The Bear 91.3, with Steve Owens on the call.
