Big night from Upshaw lifts Sugar Bears to win over Lipscomb

CONWAY, Ark. — Home sweet home. After a tough stretch of games, Central Arkansas got a wonderful reprieve in the Farris Center, overcoming a double-digit deficit against Lipscomb Wednesday night.

The 86-75 win was highlighted by a career-high 31 points from Jade Upshaw, and contributions from across the roster.

UCA improved to 8-6 on the year and 2-1 in ASUN play with the win, and stayed a perfect 6-0 in the Farris Center this season. Upshaw’s 31 were the most by a Sugar Bear since February of 2021, Bree Stephens added five more blocks to her count, and Leah Mafua added an efficient 17 points, seven assists and four steals in the win.

But Wednesday night did not start with the joyous feelings it ended with; Lipscomb jumped out in the first quarter, using the three-point shot and paint touches to build an 11-point lead near the end of the first quarter.

A Jenna Cook elbow jumper got the Sugar Bears back within single digits, but the pace and space of Lipscomb proved to be a useful style against the first quarter Sugar Bears.

The second quarter scoring for both sides completely revolved around the long ball; the teams combined for five-straight three-pointers over the first five minutes before finally Mafua found Upshaw for a layup with 5:14 to go in the half.

But just like in the first quarter, Lipscomb was able to build the lead back to double-digits before a Sugar Bear score before the buzzer trimmed the lead back under 10. But UCA was able to trim a point off of the lead from the first quarter in the second, forcing four Lipscomb turnovers and hitting four threes in the second frame.

To say that beating the Sugar Bears at home has been a challenge over the last two years is an understatement … it’s only been done once, and that was in a national postseason game against the eventual-WNIT champion Saint Louis Billikens.

So the feeling at halftime was one of optimism, that a run was coming at some point in the second half, it was a matter of when, not if. And while it wasn’t a crazy something-to-zero run, the third quarter was a series of small bursts, a 6-3 run here, a 7-2 run there.

Slowly but surely, the Bisons’ edge was chipped away, and by the midway point in the quarter, stood at just one point. Mafua answered a three-pointer with one of her own to keep it at one point, and a Destine Duckworth triple gave UCA its first lead since 7:15 mark of the first quarter.

Lipscomb tried to answer back, but a 7-2 run to close the third saw the Sugar Bears leading by two heading into the fourth. The biggest reason?

After forcing just six turnovers in the entire first half, UCA forced Lipscomb into seven in the third quarter alone, turning them into a 7-0 advantage.

In fact, Lipscomb still shot 66.7 percent in the third, but only took 12 shots, whereas the Sugar Bears shot 10-for-17 in the third, including 5-for-7 from distance. And everyone contributed; all eight Sugar Bears that played in the third quarter scored.

As many teams have learned over the past two seasons, once these Sugar Bears get rolling, they’re hard to stop. Using the momentum from the third quarter, a two-point lead turned into an 11-point lead in just a few minutes into the fourth, thanks to an 11-2 run to open the frame.

Mafua, in particular, got the quarter rolling with a three-pointer, a steal and a pocket pass to Abiara in a 45-second span. The Bisons tried to get back into it, cutting the lead to six with just over a minute left, but a pair of three-pointers by Upshaw, including her final one to crack 30 points, iced the game.

The box score and the eye test tell the story of many subplots against the Bisons. Stephens had five blocks for the third-straight game, and now has 18 rejections in three ASUN games.

She added seven boards and six assists, using her length and vision to get Sugar Bear scorers open for shots all night long.

Randrea Wright came off the bench and recorded eight points and three assists, hitting a pair of three-pointers to help take the lead in the third. Abiara had nine points and 13 boards, and has averaged 8.8 boards in four starts this season.

UCA now hits the road again, refreshed as the team heads to Charlotte to take on Queens on Saturday. Tip-off against the Royals is set for 1 p.m.