CONWAY, Ark. – Postseason (noun): What it's all about. The No. 3 seeded Central Arkansas women's basketball team has another opportunity to defend home court as the Sugar Bears take on the No. 6 seed North Alabama Lions in the Atlantic Sun Championship quarterfinals on Saturday. Tip-off against the Lions is set for 7 p.m., with a chance to defeat North Alabama for a third time this season.
As the Sugar Bears (19-10, 11-5 ASUN) prep for their second time in the ASUN Tournament, they will lean on their three award winners from the season:
Kinley Fisher,
Jade Upshaw and
Randrea Wright. Fisher was named the league's Sixth Player of the Year after the contributions she made coming off the bench. And indeed, Fisher started zero games this season, but her impact goes beyond just being on the court for tip-off. The Greenwood native finished the regular season leading the team in 20-point games (4) and free throws (77) and was second in overall scoring (11.96 ppg) and three-pointers (44).
Upshaw and Wright were both named Second Team All-ASUN guards after the seasons they had. Upshaw, a transfer from Arkansas State, led the team in scoring (12.0 ppg, one total point ahead of Fisher) and three-pointers (55). The junior also had two double-doubles on the season, pulling down ten boards on two separate occasions. Wright earned her second conference nod, after being an All-Freshman performer two years ago. The engine of the team, Wright led the squad with 70 assists, and could fill up the stat sheet whenever she needed to.
The Sugar Bears and Lions have played twice this season, once at each team's home court. In two games, Central Arkansas won by an average margin of 24 points per game, with shooting splits of 55.4/55.6/79.3. Fisher averaged 21.5 points per game on 80 percent shooting from the field, 67 percent from three and 100 percent from the line.
North Alabama finished the regular season 12-17 overall and 8-8 in conference, losing five of their last seven games headed into the tournament. The Lions took two wins over Austin Peay and Bellarmine, along with wins over Kennesaw State, Queens, North Florida and North Florida.
The Lions relied on their three-point shooting this season, with the third-most threes and the third-highest three-point percentage lifting up the third-best offense in the league. A lot of that came from Alexis Callins, who led the team with 14.4 points per game and a league-best 84 three-pointers. She was one of seven Lions to hit double-digit three-pointers, with five shooters hitting 20-plus. Callins was named a Third Team All-ASUN performer for her season.
Tip-off against the Lions marks the first home postseason for the Sugar Bears in the ASUN era, and just the second ASUN tournament game since joining the league. Central Arkansas is 0-1 in conference tournament games in the ASUN.
Game time against North Alabama is set for 7 p.m. in the Farris Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available online. Fans can also listen along on The Bear 91.3, with Steve Owens on the call.
