The UCA women’s basketball team secured a 90-84 victory against the Denver Pioneers Thursday, Nov. 24, due to its best offensive performance all season, achieving season-highs in points, three-pointers and free throws.
With this win, the Sugar Bears improved to a 3-2 record for the year, as four players scored 15 or more points.
Junior guard Kinley Fisher led the charge with a career-high 21 points, including 11 from the free-throw line.
UCA’s junior guard Leah Mafua achieved a personal-best 19 points and junior guard Jade Upshaw was a perfect 5-for-5 from three-point range with 18 points.
Junior guard Randrea Wright contributed 16 points, while junior forward Bree Stephens dominated the boards with 16 rebounds.
The Pioneers started the game hot, taking an early lead with four of their first five baskets coming from beyond the three-point arc. Denver surged to a 20-10 lead midway through the first quarter.
However, the Sugar Bears regrouped and finished the quarter with a run to narrow the lead to six points after the first ten minutes, with Denver leading 25-19.
Wright scored six points in the first quarter, shooting a perfect 3-3, but Denver’s six threes in the first set a challenging precedent.
The Sugar Bears opened the second quarter with back-to-back three-pointers, part of a run that gave them a two-point lead, 30-28, with less than five minutes remaining in the first half.
The Pioneers reclaimed their lead with less than two minutes left in the half with a three-pointer, a mid-range jump shot and a layup, making the score 38-36.
But UCA’s Fisher quickly responded, knocking down a three-pointer to take back the lead, 39-38. The Sugar Bears closed the half with a run, securing a three-point lead going into halftime, 41-38.
Upshaw’s flawless performance from beyond the arc in the second quarter nearly outscored Denver single-handedly, contributing to UCA’s 22-point quarter.
The third quarter began with a back-and-forth battle as both teams traded shots and neither team could jump out in front of the other.
But the Sugar Bears gradually gained momentum as the quarter went on and outscored the Pioneers 25-13 in the third quarter to establish a 15-point lead by the end of the quarter at 66-51.
The fourth quarter began with the Sugar Bears holding onto their lead, but Denver closed the gap with 2:31 left to play in the game, cutting the lead to nine, 82-73.
Two made free throws by Fisher boosted the lead back into double digits for the Sugar Bears, 84-73.
After an onslaught of free throws from both teams, a five-point swing for the Pioneers placed them in striking distance, narrowing the lead to six, 86-80, with only 36 seconds left in the game.
Free throws by five different Sugar Bears and 17 fourth-quarter points coming from the free-throw line maintained the lead for the Sugar Bears. Fisher played a crucial role in the final minutes, scoring 10 points from the foul line to secure the victory, 90-84.
The Sugar Bears will face off against Lindenwood on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 6 p.m. in St. Charles, Missouri, which can be streamed on ESPN+.