NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Bisons are known for their sturdy strength, an immovable object, if you will. But Thursday night, it was the Sugar Bears who dominated in the paint for a 71-69 win at Lipscomb. Central Arkansas controlled the glass on both ends, resulting in the first-ever win inside Allen Arena.
Central Arkansas improved to 12-6 on the year with a 6-1 ASUN record.
Elizabeth Abiara was a monster inside, scoring a career-high 16 points to go along with ten rebounds, eight of which were on the offensive glass. She had eight of the Sugar Bears' 14 offensive rebounds, and those translated into a 17-0 advantage in second-chance points in a two-point game.
Jade Upshaw added 18,
Leah Mafua had 11, and
Randrea Wright scored 10 points off the bench.
The Sugar Bears started the game with a 7-2 start, taking advantage of some early misses by Lipscomb. But the home team was able to battle back into it, eventually taking a 15-9 lead with just over two minutes left in the frame. Central Arkansas would battle it back down to two, but a layup with seven seconds left had the visitors trailing by four after one.
Central Arkansas opened the second on a 10-1 run, turning a four-point deficit into a five-point lead for the Sugar Bears. But once more, Lipscomb continued to fight its way back in, never really letting the Sugar Bears build the lead. Back and forth the teams went, with Central Arkansas surviving on second-chance points and points off turnovers, while Lipscomb knocked down a couple of three-pointers and foul shots. A three-pointer at the buzzer kept Lipscomb within two, sending the teams to the locker room with Central Arkansas up 34-32.
The home team continued to hit shots coming out of halftime, but couldn't stretch the lead to more than a possession. The Sugar Bears answered with a small run to take a one-possession lead of their own, and the teams jockeyed for position until the media timeout. After the break in action, however, Central Arkansas pulled away by another few points, and held a six-point advantage after three. Despite only shooting 37 percent in the frame, Central Arkansas held Lipscomb to 36 percent, and four second-chance points were the only difference in the third.
The fourth quarter was a game of mini-runs by both teams. Lipscomb started the fourth by trimming the lead back to one over the first 90 seconds, and eventually tied it by the eight-minute mark. The Sugar Bears answered with back-to-back scores by Upshaw and
Bree Stephens, reclaiming a five-point lead. The Bisons answered with four points, which was answered with four more from Central Arkansas. This would go back and forth until back-to-back pairs of free throws with just under a minute tied the game at 69-69. Lipscomb used the two fouls they had to give to get the shot clock turned off, and the Sugar Bears had possession with 11 seconds left. Inbounding the ball, Stephens found Mafua near the elbow, and upon being double-teamed, Mafua dumped it back to Stephens under the basket, who flipped it up and in with just seconds left on the clock. Lipscomb's last-ditch effort fell short, giving Central Arkansas a two-point win on the road.
The win in Nashville gives the Sugar Bears sole possession of second place in the conference, now 6-1 in ASUN games. Thursday's result also provides more cushion for Central Arkansas should Lipscomb catch the Sugar Bears later in the year, with the Sugar Bears now owning the tie-breaker with the season sweep.
Central Arkansas is back in action on Saturday, taking on Austin Peay in another road game in conference play. Tip-off against the Govs is set for 2 p.m. in Clarksville, Tennessee.
