Sugar Bears blast Bellarmine to open ASUN Conference play with big win

CONWAY, Ark. – Central Arkansas opened its 2025 ASUN Championship run with a dominant win over Bellarmine at home on Saturday.

The 77-57 win advances UCA to the semifinal round, which will be hosted next Tuesday.

The Sugar Bears (22-8) got revenge on one of the three ASUN losses from the regular season, more than paying the Knights back with a demoralizing 20-point win. Bree Stephens set a new career-best in Purple and Gray with 18 points on just nine shots.

Kinley Fisher went a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, 2-of-2 from three and 6-of-6 from the stripe to add 18 points.

Jade Upshaw had 11 points and six rebounds, and the Sugar Bears held Bellarmine to just ten points in the paint and one double-digit scorer in the win.

Offenses were not on fire in the first quarter, with the score tied at 7-7 midway through the opening frame.

After Leah Mafua tallied the first basket of the game, it was the two three-pointers from Fisher that kept the UCA offense moving.

Offenses went quiet for the next several minutes, before a quick 8-5 run from the Sugar Bears, capped by back-to-back threes from Stephens and Upshaw gave UCA a one-point lead at the buzzer.

The sides continued to trade baskets back and forth, with eight lead changes and a couple of ties during the first half.

Bellarmine continued to rely on jumpers and free throws, with the length of the Sugar Bears bothering the Knights guards. Strong defensive rebounding also contributed to the low paint production, with Bellarmine collecting just two second chance opportunities in the second.

On the offensive end, things finally started clicking for the Sugar Bears, who broke out an 11-0 run to go from trailing by one to up ten in three minutes. But an 8-1 run from the visiting Knights cut the lead to just three by halftime, despite the Sugar Bears shooting 66.7 percent in the second quarter.

Fisher had 12 points at the intermission, hitting all five of her shots, including both first quarter threes.

Eight first half turnovers allowed Bellarmine to score ten points, keeping the Knights closer than the shooting percentages would suggest.

The second half started like the second quarter did, with back and forth scoring from both sides. With the lead maintained around six points, UCA looked for a way to break the game open, while Bellarmine sought that burst of offense to close the gap and flip momentum.

A 10-2 run by UCA a few minutes deep into the quarter pushed the lead to double-figures once more, and the added pressure made it difficult for Bellarmine to fight back.

A three-pointer with five seconds left in the quarter cut the lead to nine, but UCA was starting to take a commanding presence on the court, proving to the Knights that the Farris Center was no easy conquest.

Bellarmine did not score for the first 5:28 of the fourth quarter, thanks to a defensive masterclass by the Sugar Bears.

Walling up in the paint, the Sugar Bears forced the Knights to take long jumpers, which hadn’t been kind to the visitors all night long.

As shots continued to miss, UCA steadily built the lead past 10, then 15, and even 20, building a lead of 21 after starting the fourth quarter on a five-minute, 12-0 run. From there, Bellarmine cut the lead to 17 twice, but ultimately, the Sugar Bears were too much on both sides of the ball.

With the win, UCA will host an ASUN Semifinal for the second year in a row, after making just one appearance in the ASUN Championship in the first two years in the league.

Of the five ASUN Championship games played by the Sugar Bears, three have been in the Farris Center, and next Tuesday will make four of the six. UCA will face Lipscomb in Tuesday’s game, and will tip off at 6:30 p.m.

Information from UCA Sports is included in this story.