CARROLLTON, Ga. – Another road game, another one-possession win for the Sugar Bears. This time, it was a defensive stop against West Georgia that allowed Central Arkansas to hold on for its seventh-straight win.
The win improved the Sugar Bears to 14-6 overall and 8-1 in ASUN games.
Jade Upshaw led the team with 15 points, one of four players in double-figures.
Leah Mafua added 14,
Cheyanne Kemp scored 13, and
Cheyenne Banks put up 12 points, helping the Sugar Bears outscore the home team 36-20 in the paint.
Bree Stephens also had a monster game defensively, pulling in 12 boards while recording four steals and five blocks. In the third quarter, Stephens became the second player in Central Arkansas's Division I history to reach 100 career blocks, a milestone she reached in 51 games as a Sugar Bear.
The first quarter opened just like the last eight quarters have gone for the Sugar Bears, with neither side grabbing much of a lead, and every run was answered by a different run. West Georgia got out and up 7-3, but back-to-back threes by Upshaw swung the lead to the Sugar Bears. But as Central Arkansas started to build momentum, a three-pointer from the Wolves would swing it the other way. A late three by West Georgia tied the game at 13-13, a score that would hold through the end of the first.
The trio of Mafua, Banks and Kemp got going in the second quarter, combining for 20 of the team's 22 points. The Wolves took a two-point lead early in the frame, but a personal 7-0 run by Mafua gave the Sugar Bears the lead back with just under six minutes in the half. But just like the first quarter, every run was answered in kind, and the home team cut the lead to two with back-to-back scores. Banks continued to find mismatches in the post, earning a couple of point-blank scores to go along with a trip to the line to score six in the second. Up two with 2:37 to go, Kemp put together a nice burst, scoring seven of the final nine Sugar Bear points to keep the lead at the break, with a pair of free throws with eight seconds left giving Central Arkansas a six-point advantage.
West Georgia scored the first seven points of the second half to erase the lead and take one of their own, and the teams traded buckets throughout the third. Back and forth the teams went, exchanging the lead six times, with two other ties in the frame. Upshaw tallied six in the quarter, diving to the basket and scoring on soft touches off the glass. Kemp added four to reach double-figures, and just like in the second, a late score by the sophomore allowed the Sugar Bears to enter the next period with the lead.
For the first half of the fourth quarter, neither side held more than a three-point lead, but continued to exchange the advantage throughout. Central Arkansas got to a point where free throws were the primary source of offense, as the defense would break down in the paint and force the Wolves into fouls. The Sugar Bears took advantage of the charity stripe shots, hitting 10-of-12 from the stripe to close out the game.
But up seven with 2:13 to go, the Wolves didn't consider themselves out of the game. Four free throws trimmed the lead to three, and sent the Wolves into desperation mode. But understanding what it would take to reclaim the lead, the Sugar Bears completely took away the three-point line, opting to instead exchange two-point trips down the stretch.
Randrea Wright and Mafua connected on back-to-back trips to the line to keep the Wolves needing two scores, and a third free throw from Mafua had the Sugar Bears up three with six seconds left. West Georgia inbounded it with a chance to tie, but Stephens recorded her fifth block on the game-tying attempt, getting just enough of a three-pointer to make the ball land inside the three-point line, effectively ending the night.
Thursday marked the third-straight game on the road that Central Arkansas won by one possession, claiming the last three contests by a total of six points. The Sugar Bears now bring home a seven-game winning streak and firm control of second place in the ASUN. Up next, Central Arkansas will defend the Farris Center against Queens on Saturday. Tip-off against the Royals is set for 1 p.m.
