CONWAY, Ark. – Two games left on the road for the Sugar Bears, who head to the Volunteer State to face Austin Peay and Lipscomb as the regular season winds down. Tip-off against the Governors is set for Thursday at 6 p.m., and Sugar Bears versus Bisons is on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The Sugar Bears (18-8, 10-3 ASUN) hit the road for the final time in the regular season after defending home court against Bellarmine and Eastern Kentucky last week. Against the Colonels, Central Arkansas allowed zero points in the first quarter, dominating from start to finish. On the offensive end, four Sugar Bears scored in double-figures, led by
Randrea Wright's 16.
Bree Stephens, who score the first eight points of the game, finished with 14.
Leah Mafua added 12, and
Destine Duckworth scored 11.
As the regular season comes to a close, the Sugar Bears are in a tie for the ASUN's second seed, with Stetson. But with the Hatters holding the tiebreaker, Central Arkansas is in the third spot, still in line to host the team's first game of the 2024 ASUN Championships. It would mark the first time since joining the league that the Sugar Bears would host a game of the championships, and would be played at a place in which the Sugar Bears have gone 11-0 this season.
The return trip to Tennessee will be the second game against both Austin Peay and Liscomb this season, after Central Arkansas won both at home to start the conference slate. The game against Austin Peay was decided by one point, after the teams combined for just 15 points in the fourth quarter. Thankfully, after the Sugar Bears missed a pair of free throws late in the game, the defense held on to force a tough shot at the buzzer, which clanked off the rim and out.
Jade Upshaw had an efficient 19 points in the game. Against Lipscomb, the Sugar Bears and Bisons went to overtime, where Central Arkansas would score eight of the first ten points in the extra period to walk away with a five-point win.
Austin Peay nears the end of the season with a 13-13 record overall and a 6-6 run in ASUN games. The Governors are among the teams still fighting for a berth with just two weeks left in the regular season, currently sitting in seventh place. Most recently, the Govs defeated in-state foe Lipscomb by 13 points to get closer to postseason. Four of the five starters scored in double-figures, with Shamarre Hale recording a double-double.
Hale continues to lead the team in points and rebounds, averaging 12.6 points and 7.1 boards per game. The grad student has been even better in league games, averaging 13.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest, securing six double-doubles. But Austin Peay is a team that relies on its starters, with only one player who has started five or fewer conference games averaging more than three points.
Lipscomb, on the other hand, has locked up a postseason spot, currently in fifth place with a 7-5 conference record, sitting 14-11 overall. The Bisons had won two-straight, including a double-overtime win at North Florida, before falling to the Govs last weekend. Against the Ospreys, the Bisons scored a season-high 94 points, including 37 from Claira McGowen. The junior shot 10-of-17 from the field, hitting three triples, and added 14-of-15 from the charity stripe to establish a program record in the Division I era.
McGowan's outburst lifted her scoring average north of 16 points per game in conference outings, despite starting only three games. Since the start of the ASUN schedule, she leads her team in three-pointers (24) and free throws (59), while averaging 5.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
Tip-off against the Govs is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday in Clarksville, followed by a 2 p.m. tip against the Bisons in Nashville. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available online. Both games will also be available on The Bear 91.3, with Steve Owens on the call.
