CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas women's basketball team's five-game winning streak was snapped Saturday night as the Sugar Bears dropped a 57-48 final score at Little Rock. The Sugar Bears started strong at the Jack Stephens Center, but execution late favored the home team.
The Sugar Bears move to 6-3 overall with the result, with three games remaining in non-conference play.
Linda Amaning led the team with ten points,
Bree Stephens had 13 rebounds, but Central Arkansas shot just 32 percent on the night, struggling to score consistently.
Central Arkansas's defense ruled the first quarter, with Central Arkansas forcing tough shots out of the Trojans. Little Rock shot 14 percent in the opening frame, and Central Arkansas's offense churned out a 57 percent shooting quarter, building an 18-5 lead. The bench provided much of the scoring, with 12 points coming from Amaning and
Jenna Cook on 5-of-6 shooting.
The second quarter was neck and neck, with just a free throw difference providing the only scoring separation. The teams matched each other's 4-for-13 from the field, each team hit two three-pointers, but the Trojans had the benefit of five more free throws to close the gap.
Paris Santacaterina kept the Sugar Bears afloat with five points in the quarter, but Little Rock cut the lead to eight.
Offensive struggles started to take a toll in the second half. The Trojans whittled the lead down into single digits midway through the third quarter. By the end of the third, the lead was only five. The Central Arkansas defense continued to try to hold serve, but shots just would not fall, and the Trojans continued to find ways to muster up offense. The fourth quarter continued to be the same, and Little Rock was able to take the lead early in the final frame. Central Arkansas kept it within a possession until the final few minutes, and the Trojans were able to pull away at the end.
The Sugar Bears will look to rebound next Saturday, heading down to Grambling State on December 13
th. Tip-off against the Tigers is set for 2 p.m.
