FLORENCE, Ala. – A sluggish night in Florence saw the Central Arkansas women's basketball team drop only its third ASUN game this season, closing the regular season with a rare loss at North Alabama on Saturday.
The setback moves the Sugar Bears to 21-8 on the year and ends the ASUN slate in second place with a 15-3 record.
Kinley Fisher led the team with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting, Nine Sugar Bears got in the scoring column, but the 66-56 final score snapped a seven game road winning streak for Central Arkansas.
Everything was falling in the first quarter, as the Sugar Bears raced out to a 12-6 lead halfway through the first. After North Alabama hit a three to cut the lead to three, Central Arkansas rattled off a 6-0 run to close the quarter, holding UNA to just nine points in the frame and doubling up the home team.
After trading buckets to open the second, Central Arkansas led by eight points, but North Alabama put together a 10-0 run to swing momentum and the scoreboard. Fisher answered with a 7-2 run of her own to keep the Sugar Bears out in front, but North Alabama continued to hit shots.
Destine Duckworth capped the quarter with two three-pointers with less than 90 seconds, including the second with six seconds left, sending the Sugar Bears into the locker room with a two-point advantage. Fisher and Duckworth combined for 13 of the team's 15 in the quarter, but four turnovers and offensive rebounds allowed the Lions to cut the lead almost all the way down.
Fisher hit a fadeaway jumper in the paint to open the second half, part of a 6-5 exchange between the teams that had Central Arkansas clinging to a three-point lead. But North Alabama started finding shots, taking the lead for the first time in the second half with 5:25 in the frame. And while Central Arkansas would keep it close, North Alabma was able to hold the lead until the final shot of the quarter, thanks to a 4-0 burst by
Cheyanne Kemp that gave Central Arkansas a one-point lead headed to the fourth.
Free throws proved to be the difference in the fourth, as the Lions continually found their way to the free throw line. The Central Arkansas deficit stayed within two possessions until a double foul was called on the Sugar Bears, giving North Alabama four free throws that allowed the Lions to open up the lead. With less than 30 seconds to go, that effectively took the wind out of the sails of any comeback attempt.
Central Arkansas will regroup for the ASUN Championship, with at least two rounds being held in the Farris Center. A play-in first round between Jacksonville and Bellarmine on Friday will determine the opponent for Central Arkansas's quarterfinal game on Saturday. Both games will tip off at 6:30 p.m.
