The UCA women’s basketball team had their coach, Sandra Rushing, return to the sideline for her first game back in over a month.
The Sugar Bears (7-14, 2-8 ASUN) faced off against the Liberty Flames (16-7, 10-2 ASUN) on Thursday, Feb. 9, resulting in a 74-43 Sugar Bears defeat.
UCA remains a team plagued with injuries, currently only boasting a seven-member roster, compared with Liberty’s doubly large 14-member roster.
However, Coach Rushing does not believe her short-handed team is an excuse for a loss, “I’m not going to make excuses for seven kids. If you want to play the game of basketball, and you really love it, you are going to put everything into it,” Rushing said.
Liberty began the game on top due to a layup from senior Mya Berkman, the towering center for the Flames, just 25 seconds into the first quarter.
A bad pass from sophomore guard Kinley Fisher resulted in UCA’s first turnover of the game, but Fisher quickly redeemed herself on the defensive side by getting a steal just eight seconds later.
UCA sophomore guard Randrea Wright broke a minute-and-a-half scoring drought when she was fouled on a fast break shot attempt and went 1-2 at the free throw line, cutting Liberty’s lead down to one.
After a missed UCA shot attempt Berkman snagged her second defensive rebound of the game and hustled to the other end of the floor where she was rewarded with an easy shot in the paint, increasing the Flames’ lead to three.
Senior guard Siera Carter subbed in for the Sugar Bears and immediately made her presence felt, scoring a layup after being in the game for just three seconds.
The Sugar Bears secured their first and only lead of the night due to a layup from Wright, making the score 7-6, with six minutes and five seconds left in the first quarter.
Liberty countered hard with six uncontested points, a successful three-point play from senior guard Dee Brown, along with sophomore guard Emma Hess scoring the first three-pointer of the game.
After a near two-minute scoring slump, junior guard Kennedi Williams drained a picture-perfect stepback jumper, increasing Liberty’s lead to five.
Junior forward Kierra Prim drove to the rim hard, sank a contested layup, got the foul call and made the free throw, resulting in a successful three-point play for the Bears, ending the first quarter 21-14, Sugar Bears down.
Liberty picked up right where they left off, beginning the second quarter with a three-point shot by junior forward Jordan Bailey, marking the third three-pointer of the game for the Flames.
Wright led the scoring charge for the Sugar Bears entering the second quarter, scoring two consecutive jump shots, making the score 28-18 Liberty.
Liberty had complete control over the court for the next three minutes, going on a 10-0 run.
The run was halted thanks to UCA’s first successful three-point shot of the night, Fisher’s long-range jumper found the bottom of the net with 2:18 left to play in the half, making the score 38-21, Liberty.
The first half came to a close with a hard-fought second-chance layup from sophomore center Bella Smuda, the tallest player on the court for the Flames, standing at a towering six feet six inches tall.
Going into halftime, Liberty led 42-21.
Liberty showed no signs of slowing down coming out of the locker room, with Berkman scoring a quick layup just under a minute into the half that sent her into double-digit points for the night.
Liberty continued to outscore UCA 14-8 in the third quarter, due to the flames shooting an above-average 53.8% from the field, compared with the Sugar Bears’ 20%, making the score 56-29 Liberty, at the end of the third.
Sophomore guard Gloria Fornah drew first blood for the Bears at the start of the final quarter, nailing a textbook mid-range jumper, increasing the Bears’ score to 31, Liberty 56.
The largest lead of the night happened with 27 seconds left to play when sophomore guard Hope LeMelle scored the final points of the night for the Flames, making the final score 74-43.
“Sometimes the game is too long, we have got to get stronger mentally as we go through the ballgame. I am very proud of the team because they could have thrown in the towel with only seven people. But if you are going to play, you play hard,” Rushing said.
The Sugar Bears’ next game is against Bellarmine University at 4 p.m. on Feb. 16 in Louisville, Kentucky.