Mafua ties career high as Sugar Bears clinch spot for ASUN seeding

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Central Arkansas was able to extend its winning streak against Jacksonville, but the Dolphins didn’t make it easy.

Leah Mafua led the way in a tough, physical game, tying her career-high with 24 points. Kinley Fisher added 22, becoming the first Sugar Bear duo to score 20 points apiece since 2018.

On the defensive end, Bree Stephens recorded six blocks, becoming the program’s Division I era leader in career blocks. The senior, who has played 53 games for the Sugar Bears, has 110 blocks after tonight.

Pace was high in the first quarter, as both sides shot well and answered quickly. Neither side led by more than two, and for much of the quarter, the lead was only one, regardless of who had it.

Mafua helped buoy the offense, scoring eight in the first quarter, along with six from Jade Upshaw. The pair combined for 14 of the team’s 18 points, and helped UCA hold a two-point lead after one.

The Sugar Bears opened the second with a 5-0 run to build the lead out to seven points, capped by a Randrea Wright three-pointer. Jacksonville tried to battle back into it, but every time the home team started to build momentum, a Sugar Bear hit a big shot to keep the lead at multiple possessions.

Late in the second, however, the Dolphins were able to put together a 5-0 run of their own to cut the lead to two, but UCA answered with a 7-2 run to push the lead back out by halftime. Fisher scored nine in the frame, and was a major reason for the Sugar Bears going 14-for-14 from the free throw line in the first half.

A Mafua three-pointer opened the third quarter, and put the lead at double-digits for the first time. Jacksonville answered with a run to cut the lead to three, and the home team was making its push to get back into the game.

But after the media timeout, UCA went right back to work, pushing the lead back to seven, then up to eight, and held the lead there until a three-point play by JU at the end cut the lead to five at the end of the third.

Mafua added eight in the frame, and Destine Duckworth came in and gave the Sugar Bears some valuable minutes, scoring five points in the third.

UCA came out in the fourth and did what Sugar Bears have done over the last two years, dominate on the defensive end and push leads out.

The first four minutes saw the lead grow from five to 15, a 10-0 run that had three Sugar Bears score and JU miss seven-straight shots. Up 14 with just over four to go, UCA allowed Jacksonville to whittle the lead down to six over the next three minutes, practically all coming at the free throw line.

But down six with under a minute to go, Jacksonville had to play the foul game, and the Sugar Bears hit seven of their final eight free throws to ice the game, reextending the distance to double-figures with the final pair.

On the defensive end, UCA held the Dolphins to just 3-of-18 from the floor in the fourth, and just 30 percent in the second half.

The Sugar Bears have now won nine-straight games, including five-straight on the road. The last time a Sugar Bear team has won five-straight on the road was in 2017, when UCA won five in a row away from home in Southland Conference games.

The win on Thursday also clinches a spot in the ASUN Championship for the Sugar Bears, who would be the league’s No. 2 seed if the season ended today.

The Sugar Bears stay in Florida for the weekend, playing at North Florida on Saturday. Tip-off against the Ospreys is set for 1 p.m.