CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas women's basketball team returns home for the next ASUN game, taking on Lipscomb tomorrow at the Farris Center. Tip-off against the Bisons is set for 6:30 p.m.
The Sugar Bears (7-6, 1-1 ASUN) are looking to get back in the driver's seat this season, after dropping a 68-60 final at Bellarmine over the weekend. Close for three quarters, Central Arkansas couldn't find enough offense to keep up with a scoring surge from the Knights in the final frame. While the Knights had their best quarter in the fourth, Central Arkansas had its worst, flipping a game that had been all Sugar Bears to that point.
Two games into ASUN play, the Sugar Bears have seen a blossoming of
Elizabeth Abiara. In two games, she's averaged 9.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game on 75 percent shooting, and has started to find her stride in her sophomore season.
Bree Stephens has also been terrific defensively, recording 13 blocks over the last two games. She is one of four players in Division I to record 13 blocks in back-to-back games, having recorded six against Jacksonville and seven against Bellarmine.
Last season, the teams split a pair of meetings, with each side winning the home matchup. The Sugar Bears beat the Bisons 66-61 in overtime in the Farris Center in January, thanks to 17 points from
Randrea Wright and a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double from Abiara. In overtime, Wright scored five of the 12 Sugar Bear points, helping pull away with another home win.
Lipscomb enters the week 9-4 overall, with wins in each of its first two ASUN games. The Bisons defeated North Florida and EKU at home, scoring 75-plus in both games while allowing just 50.5 points to both the Ospreys and Colonels. Ainhoa Cea scored 25 against the Colonels, and Molly Heard averaged 15.5 points across both games. Each of the Bisons' top-three scorers shot better than 50 percent in the first week of ASUN play.
The Bisons are another one of the ASUN's small, stretchy teams. They lead the ASUN in three-pointers made, sinking 10.4 per contest, and hit the long ball at a 34.4 percent clip as a team. Of the nine players that average at least ten minutes per game, all nine have hit at least seven three-pointers, with five hitting at least one three-pointer per game. Lipscomb has four of the league's top-25 in made three-pointers this season, the only ASUN team with four top-25 shooters.
Tip-off against Lipscomb is set for 6:30 p.m. in the Farris Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available. Fans can also keep up with all the action at The Bear 91.3, with Steve Owens on the call.
