13 Dec 2023 Central Arkansas Women’s Basketball downs CBC

CONWAY — Returning home after six games on the road, on Dec. 12 the Central Arkansas women’s basketball team cruised to a 69-32 win over Central Baptist College. The Sugar Bears used balanced scoring and tough defense to take down the Mustangs, with nine players scoring five or more in the win.

The win improved the Sugar Bears to 6-4 on the year, the first time since the 2017-18 that the team was 6-4 or better through ten games. Jade Upshaw led the team in scoring, netting 12 points with two three-pointers. Leah Mafua and Elizabeth Abiara both pulled in nine rebounds, part of a 17 offensive rebound effort by Central Arkansas.

Mafua opened the game with a three-pointer on the first possession of the game, getting the offense started with a clean look from deep. She was one of four Sugar Bears to connect from deep in the first, but the Mustangs were scrappy. After fighting through some turnover issues early, CBC hit three of its own triples to momentarily stay close, but the defensive pressure of the Sugar Bears started wearing on the Mustangs. Blitzing pick-and-rolls and getting in the face of ball handlers, Central Arkansas forced 11 turnovers in the first period, turning those into eight points. Central Arkansas ended the period up 11, doubling the Mustangs in the opening period.

After letting CBC hang around in the first, the offense started clicking in the second quarter, and the lead started to balloon. Combining easy buckets with an ironclad defense, the Sugar Bears embarked on a six-minute 19-2 run, breaking the lead open and up to 28 points. Cheyenne Banks, Randrea Wright, Mafua and Upshaw scored all 19 points, scoring 12 in the paint and nine off of turnovers in the frame. By the end of the quarter, CBC had only managed eight points, compared to 25 for the Sugar Bears. Destine Duckworth gave Central Arkansas its highest lead of the half with just over a minute to play in the second quarter, hitting a pair of free throws to make it a 29-point game.

The Sugar Bears went right back to work in the second half, putting the lead over 30 points for the first time on the first score of the third. But after cruising into halftime, shots stopped falling at such a rapid pace. The game slowed down as each team tried to find higher quality shots, allowing defenses to settle in. Central Arkansas scored just 14 points in the third, shooting 25 percent. But where the offense struggled, the defense thrived, holding CBC to a single made field goal in the frame.

That defensive pressure continued in the fourth quarter, as Central Arkansas recorded back-to-back quarters allowing one field goal. CBC shot 8.7 percent in the second half, a combined 2-for-23 over the final two quarters.

The win kept Central Arkansas perfect at home, a 3-0 start to the season in the Farris Center. With one home game left before the start of conference, the Sugar Bears will have plenty of experience playing in front of hostile crowds when the ASUN schedule starts. Up next for the Sugar Bears is a road game to face the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday. Tip-off against Kansas is set for 4 p.m. in Lawrence.