JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Despite a slow start, the Central Arkansas women's basketball team rallied for a 72-59 win over the North Florida Ospreys. The win marked ten in a row for the Sugar Bears, including six on the road.
The win improved the Sugar Bears to 17-6 overall and 11-1 in ASUN games.
Leah Mafua scored a team-high 21 points, breaking the 20-point mark for the second-straight game.
Jade Upshaw added 14,
Kinley Fisher had 12, and
Elizabeth Abiara had 10 points and nine rebounds, just missing out on her fourth double-double of the season.
Offense came slowly for the Sugar Bears in the first quarter. Shot selection was fine, but the rim just felt like it had a lid on it. Central Arkansas did a good job making sure that the defensive end wasn't impacted by the poor shooting;
Bree Stephens in particular stayed active, recording three steals and a block through the first ten minutes. After one, the Sugar Bears trailed 14-9, holding the Ospreys to 28 percent shooting despite shooting just 27 percent themselves.
Cheyanne Kemp hit a three-pointer late, and Central Arkansas went back to the huddle hoping that could spart the second.
That hope would be answered aplenty at the beginning of the second. Down five entering the frame, Central Arkansas sprinted out of the gates, breaking off a 15-0 run to storm back to take a ten-point lead. Kemp and Mafua combined for 10 of the points, and the road team silenced the Homecoming crowd at UNF Arena. The Sugar Bears used eight Osprey turnovers and bullied inside for 14 points to sprint ahead, taking advantage of dribble-drive offense. UNF tried to answer, fighting back from an 11-point deficit late in the quarter, sparking a 9-2 run to cut the lead to four at halftime.
Kemp, who has been a punch of the bench for several games now, continued to do so, scoring eight points in the first half on 3-for-4 from the field and 2-of-3 from three.
The Ospreys took the lead down to two to open the third quarter, threatening to reclaim the lead behind a home crowd. But a Fisher layup ended that thought, and a couple of minutes into the frame, the Sugar Bears were back up nine. UNF closed the gap to four by the media timeout, but that would be the closest the Ospreys would ever get again, as Central Arkansas jumped right back ahead. Another burst to close the quarter, including bench points from
Destine Duckworth and
Randrea Wright, and the Sugar Bears led by nine heading into the fourth.
UNF hit a couple of shots early in the fourth to trim the lead to five, and Central Arkansas called timeout to settle down and refocus. A 6-0 run to put the visitors back up double-figures indicated that the message had gone through. From there, the Sugar Bears were able to coast to victory, building the lead out to a game-high of 16 points before settling at 13 to end the game.
Mafua took over in the fourth, scoring 12 of her points, including eight at the free throw line, to help catapult the Sugar Bears to their tenth-straight win. Abiara was key as well, pulling down four offensive rebounds in the second half to add a few possessions.
The Sugar Bears are back at home for the next four, returning to the Farris Center next Wednesday to take on North Alabama and next Saturday to face Austin Peay.
