Sugar Bears
Sugar Bears do their part for showdown, downing Austin Peay behind Mafua
UCA continues to prove why it is nearly impossible to get a win in the Farris Center controlling late stages
CONWAY, Ark. – Central Arkansas put together just enough scores and just enough stops to earn a 12th straight win on Saturday, defending home court against Austin Peay and claiming a 77-67 win.
The Sugar Bears (19-6, 13-1 ASUN) continued to prove why it is nearly impossible to get a win in the Farris Center, controlling the late stages of the game to keep a perfect 11-0 record at home.
Of the six Sugar Bears that scored, five of them tallied at least 12 points, led by Leah Mafua’s 18. Bree Stephens matched a career-best with four three-pointers, scoring 12 points, and Elizabeth Abiara was perfect from the field on six attempts, adding 12 of her own to go along with a team-high nine boards.
Austin Peay got the scoring started with a jumper in the paint, but the teams went back and forth throughout the first six minutes of the frame. The teams mirrored scores, tying the game at two, five, eight and ten points.
UCA then put up one of many bursts of scoring, racing out to a 7-0 run on three-straight possessions, taking the score from a tie game to a seven-point lead in 123 seconds.
The Govs answered with back-to-back scores of their own to cut it to three, but an Abiara tip-in with just under a minute pushed the lead back to five for the rest of the quarter.
UCA stayed on the gas pedal, building an 11-point lead over the first two minutes of the second quarter.
Then it was Austin Peay’s turn to right the ship and put together a run, scoring 16 of the next 18 points to take a three-point lead.
Though the Sugar Bears would tie the game just before half, a Governors score as the buzzer sounded sent the home team to the locker room trailing by two.
The Sugar Bears settled down after halftime and went to work. Back-to-back threes from Mafua and Bree Stephens put UCA back on top, and started another big run by the home team.
Over the next six minutes, the Sugar Bears blitzed into the paint, running the pick and roll to perfection time and time again, coming up with easy layups or converting and-ones to build the lead back to double-figures.
The lead continued to hover around 12 through the three-minute mark, but Austin Peay responded with a 7-0 lead to cut the lead to just five points with less than 90 seconds in the third.
Randrea Wright split a pair of free throws with a few seconds left on the clock to add to the lead, sending UCA to the fourth up six.
Austin Peay cut the lead to one point with three of the first four scores of the fourth quarter, and a couple of paint scores later, the Govs were up two. Tied at the five-minute mark, Mafua stepped up in a big way and just took the game over.
With the score even at 64-64, the senior Kiwi brought the ball down the floor and posted up smaller guards on back-to-back possessions, muscling them down into the paint and cashing in on easy layups to get the crowd into the game and the Sugar Bears back on top, four of the nine points she would score in the final five minutes to build the lead back to double-figures.
Mafua scored at least 15 points for the fourth-straight game, and her penchant for making big-time shots continued to shine.
Up next, UCA hosts the ASUN’s reigning champion Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Thursday, February 20th.
The matchup will pit the top-two programs in the ASUN this season against one another, and currently stands as the game that will determine the overall No. 1 seed come ASUN Championship time. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m.
Sugar Bears
Sugar Bears knocked out of WNIT, losing to Abilene Christian
UCA ends season with record of 23-10, finishing with 20-plus wins in back-to-back years for the first time since 2016-18
CONWAY, Ark. — Central Arkansas ended its season in the second round of the WNIT, falling to Abilene Christian, 75-53, on Monday.
The Sugar Bears end the season with a final record of 23-10, finishing with 20-plus wins in back-to-back years for the first time since 2016-18.
Jade Upshaw led the way with 17 points and nine rebounds, hitting five three-pointers for the third time this season. Kinley Fisher added 12, and Cheyanne Kemp scored 10 off the bench.
Upshaw and the Sugar Bears let it fly from three in the first quarter, scoring points in chunks as the teams battled back and forth.
She hit three triples over the first few minutes, scoring three of the first four to force a timeout from the Wildcats.
Abilene Christian kept it close despite the flurry of treys, and the dichotomy of the first quarter was that UCA scored all 18 of its points from three, while Abilene Christian scored all 14 points in the paint.
The Wildcats opened the second quarter with a 12-0 run, turning a four-point Sugar Bear lead into an eight-point deficit. And after shooting 60 percent in the first quarter, UCA could only muster 25 percent in the second, and by halftime, trailed by 14.
Upshaw, who had five threes by halftime, and led the Sugar Bears with 15 points and six boards. But 16 turnovers allowed the Wildcats to score 22 points, compared to just six points off turnovers for UCA.
As the second half started, turnovers continued to be a problem, as was the three-pointer disappearing. Despite getting open shots, the Sugar Bears just couldn’t break serve. Even though Abilene Christian shot just 35 percent in the frame, the Sugar Bears only shot 28 percent.
As the outcome became decided in the fourth quarter, the deficit eclipsed 20 before the final horn. Kemp scored eight in the second half, hitting a bevy of midrange jumpers.
The Sugar Bears look ahead to next year, bringing back a young core of Eliabeth Abiara and Kemp as juniors and Jenna Cook as a sophomore.
The lone senior on the squad will be Destine Duckworth.
Information from UCA Sports is included in this story.
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Central Arkansas couldn’t overcome Florida Gulf Coast and see an ASUN Championship run slip away in the Finals for the second-straight year.
The Sugar Bears close the ASUN Championship 23-9 after the loss to the Eagles. Leah Mafua led the team with 17 points, Jade Upshaw had 15, and Cheyanne Kemp added ten off the bench.
Cheyenne Banks had a game-best nine rebounds, her second-most in a game this season. UCA limited the Eagles to just six three-pointers, their fifth-fewest this season, and outrebounded the Eagles in the loss. Upshaw and Mafua were named to the ASUN All-Tournament Team following the decision.
“I’m really proud of them, I think what we were trying to get done, especially on the defensive end, we did well. We had some moments in the first half where we got to the spots we wanted, they just didn’t go in the basket,” Sugar Bears coach Tony Kemper said after the game. “But we turned it over too much, and that’s a really good team, they’re really tough to play in here.”
The opening quarter was back and forth, with the Sugar Bears taking an early 6-3 lead after the first few possessions. With the UCA defense locking down the paint, FGCU was forced to hoist threes, but only managed 1-for-9 in the first frame.
The game was tied at 8-8 and 10-10, and the Sugar Bears kept battling, but a 6-2 burst at the end of the first had the Eagles up four.
Both offenses started slowly to open the second, with zero points over the first three minutes before FGCU hit its second three of the day.
As the Eagles started to inch the lead further, Mafua and the Sugar Bears were doing everything they could to stay in it. The New Zealander scored seven points in the second quarter, but turnovers and free throws allowed the Eagles to go into the break up 14 after a Bree Stephens steal and score right before halftime.
Mafua had 12 at the midway point, scoring half of the Sugar Bears’ points.
UCA started finding its footing midway through the third quarter. Down as many as 21, the Sugar Bears put together an 8-0 run to cut into the lead, and unsurprisingly, free throws for the home team halted the momentum.
The Sugar Bears scored again to keep the deficit at 13, but Gulf Coast stretched it back to 17 by the end of the third.
The Sugar Bears continued to fight in the fourth, but down to their last stand and starting to get shorthanded, the Sugar Bears just didn’t have enough in the tank.
Though the defense was able to hold FGCU to just 11 points, the offense wasn’t able to find the run, managing the same 11 points as FGCU. Upshaw tallied 11 points in the second half, along with Kemp’s eight.
“We’ve got a lot of really good players, and I appreciate them all. I thought Leah was aggressive early and throughout. Jade got going in the second half, what a player, what a career at UCA,” Kemper added. “All of these seniors, great careers here at UCA.
“This senior class is really special, and for them to come to UCA when it was nothing, and build it to a team that played in this game twice, there’s only one thing that would have made it better, and that would have been winning today.””
UCA will have its pick of postseasons outside the NCAA Tournament, with an announcement to be made in the coming days.
Information from UCA Sports is included in this story.
Sugar Bears
Sugar Bears face familiar foe going for first ASU Title
Despite scoring most points ever against Eagles in regular season, UCA still lost and chance at redemption includes trophy
CONWAY, Ark. — It’s Championship time for Central Arkansas heading to Fort Myers, Fla., for a second-straight appearance in the ASUN Championship Final.
Taking on the powerhouse of the league, the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, the Sugar Bears look for their first ASUN Title at 1 p.m.
The Sugar Bears (23-8, 15-3 ASUN) take the court after downing Lipscomb 70-65 in the semifinal round.
Jade Upshaw poured in 25 points, her second time reaching the 25-point mark against the Bisons, as a big first quarter for the home team carried the day. UCA moved to 4-0 in home ASUN tournament games, earning a second ASUN Championship appearance in as many years.
UCA plays FGCU for the fourth time in two seasons, struggling to get a result against the ASUN regular season champions.
This last time, at home during the regular season, the Sugar Bears tallied their most points against the Eagles in the series, scoring 71 points. Leah Mafua led the team with 17 points, Randrea Wright added 13, and Kinley Fisher contributed 12.
It marked the first time that UCA has had three double-digit scorers against the Eagles.
FGCU (29-3, 18-0 ASUN) punched its ticket to the Final after defeating EKU 63-47.
The Eagles trailed 20-7 after the first inning, but regrouped to tie the game by half, and took over from there.
Emani Jefferson, the ASUN Player of the Year, scored 22 points in the win, and Lauryn Taylor added 15 points and 13 rebounds.
The Eagles have been in the ASUN Championship Final every season since they’ve been Division I eligible.
FGCU has claimed every championship, except for two, losing in the Finals in 2013 and 2016. UCA has two conference titles in program history, winning Southland Championships in 2016 and 2017. The Sugar Bears are making their fifth appearance in a conference championship game.
Tip-off for an ASUN title and a spot in the Big Dance is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday.
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.
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