CONWAY, Ark. – The Central Arkansas women's basketball team gets set for its final road trip of the regular season, heading down to Florence, Alabama to face North Alabama on Wednesday. The Sugar Bears and Lions will tip off at 5:45 p.m.
Central Arkansas (18-10, 11-5 ASUN) won its seventh-straight game last time out, taking on a West Georgia team that had only lost two games at home to this point in the season. After a back-and-forth half, the Sugar Bears dominated the second half, outscoring the Wolves 45-25 to run away with the final result.
Bree Stephens and
Cheyanne Kemp led the team with 14 points each,
Shae Littleford added 11, and
Linda Amaning put in nine points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Just two games left on the schedule, Central Arkansas has put together a third-straight season with double-digit ASUN wins. The Sugar Bears are currently tied for third in the ASUN with Stetson, over whom Central Arkansas holds the tiebreaker. Finishing third in the conference would give Central Arkansas a first round bye in the upcoming ASUN Championships that take place in Jacksonville, Florida over the first week of March. The Sugar Bears have reached back-to-back ASUN Championship Finals, and this season, the Sugar Bears have defeated four of the five other teams with ten-plus ASUN wins this season.
Wednesday's matchup with North Alabama will be the second meeting of the season. In Conway back in early February, Central Arkansas held the Lions to just 48 points, the middle of five-straight games allowing fewer than 50 points. On the other end, Kemp scored 16 points to lead all scorers, and Stephens had a classic statline of 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists, four blocks and three steals.
North Alabama (15-12, 10-6 ASUN) got two wins last week, winning at Bellarmine before returning to defend home court against Lipscomb. After downing the Knights by 30, the Lions had to find a way to get a five-point win over the Bisons, outscoring Lipscomb by ten in the second half. Four starters poured in double-figures against Lipscomb, led by Gabby Jackson's 15 and 12 rebounds.
The Lions are tied for the five seed with two games left on the schedule, one game back of the group tied with Central Arkansas. North Alabama ends the season with its final three games at home, and Wednesday is the middle game of the stretch of three. The Lions close their regular season with West Georgia coming down to Florence on Friday.
Tip-off against North Alabama is set for 5:45 p.m. in Florence. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available online. Fans can also follow the action on The Bear 91.3 with Steve Owens on the call.
