Florida Gulf Coast ends Sugar Bears’ title hopes for second straight year

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.