Sugar Bears finally get some breathing room in win over Queens

CONWAY, Ark. — After three-straight one-possession road wins, Central Arkansas finally got to come play in front of its home fans. It paid off with the Sugar Bears taking a 68-50 win over Queens on Saturday.

The win improved UCA to 15-6 overall and 9-1 in ASUN games, extending the team’s winning streak to eight straight. Saturday’s win also kept the Sugar Bears perfect at home this season at 9-0 in the Farris Center.

Elizabeth Abiara played lights out, leading the team with 14 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, picking up her third double-double of the season. Cheyanne Kemp added 13 points off the bench, shooting 5-of-6 from the field, including a three-pointer and a pair of free throws.

Just like the last three games, play in the first quarter was very even, with both sides answering each other shot for shot. Queens opened up with a five-point lead after sprinting out of the gates with a 7-2 run, but a three from Jade Upshaw and a pair of free throws from Abiara knotted the score.

The Royals again built a four-point lead a few minutes later, but that too was immediately answered with four-straight from Kemp. The sides traded baskets twice more before ending the first quarter even at 17-17.

Both offenses ground to a halt in the second, although Queens was able to go on a crawling 6-0 run over the first seven minutes before a Jenna Cook free throw ended the scoring drought.

And after scoring just the one point through the first 7:30 and trailing by seven, the Sugar Bears went on a 7-0 run to close the half, started by a huge three-pointer from Stephens to get the lid off the basket. As a result, the score remained tied at the break.

Scoring in the first half was very balanced for UCA, who had four players score five or six points.

The shooting splits left a little to be desired, as the home team shot just 38 percent from the floor and 18 percent from three, but the defense kept the Sugar Bears from falling behind, and the halftime feeling was upbeat, just needing the offense to catch up to the defense in the second half.

The first four minutes of the third quarter were very much like the preceding 20, even basketball that gave neither team an edge.

But finally, the beams of offense and defense started to intertwine for UCA, and both sides of the ball started to get going in tandem.

Over the next two minutes, the Sugar Bears put together an 8-0 run, forcing a timeout from Queens and giving the home team their largest lead of the game to that point. The Royals were able to end their scoreless run, but the offense continued to add to the lead, taking an 11-point advantage to the fourth.

UCA continued to apply pressure on both sides of the ball in the final stanza, building the lead to double-figures in the first few minutes and never looking back.

Once the lead was over 10, Queens was never even able to put together a 4-0 run in the fourth, the Sugar Bears had an answer for everything.

Offensively, the Sugar Bears moved the ball and earned trip after trip to the free throw line, attacking the paint and forcing Royals defenders into bad spots. And the home team capitalized on the freebies, hitting 12-for-12 in the frame to build the lead.

After being tied at halftime, UCA held Queens to 25 second half points on 37 percent shooting. Meanwhile, the Sugar Bears scored 43 points on 46 percent shooting, and shot 14-for-15 at the charity stripe to close it down.

Queens had 10 rebounds in the second half, corralling four offensive rebounds and six defensive boards. For UCA, Abiara had nine boards in the second half, five offensive and four defensive.

The Sugar Bears are back on the road next week, heading down to Florida to take on Jacksonville and North Florida. UCA will play JU on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. Saturday tip against the Ospreys.

Information from UCA Sports is included in this story.