The UCA Women’s basketball team won their sixth game in a row, holding off the Austin Peay University Lady Governors 67-63 at the Farris Center Wednesday, Feb. 18.
The Sugar Bears improved to 17-10 overall, and 10-5 in the Atlantic Sun Conference with the victory. Central Arkansas now finds themselves in a tie with West Georgia for third place in the ASUN standings.
The lead changed hands early and often, as both teams traded baskets throughout the opening five minutes of play.
After sophomore guard Anovia Sheals made one of two free throws to put Austin Peay up 8-7, the Sugar Bears closed the first quarter on a 12-3 run to build a 19-11 advantage.
The Lady Governors made a push to close the gap early in the second quarter, using a 9-4 spurt to shrink the deficit to 23-20 with 5:33 remaining in the first half.
Once again the Sugar Bears responded with a run of their own to close out the quarter, capping off a 9-2 run with a three from Senior forward Bree Stephens in the final minute to set UCA up with a 32-22 halftime lead.
Central Arkansas used a strong start to the third quarter to claim its largest lead of the night, when a layup from Bree Stephens put the Sugar Bears up 40-27 with 5:44 in the third quarter.
Feeling the game slipping out of reach, Austin Peay turned up the intensity. The Lady Governors outscored UCA 10-5 over the next few minutes to close the deficit to 45-37 at the conclusion of the third quarter.
Austin Peay continued their surge into the fourth quarter, culminating with three from freshman guard Jade Rucker to shrink the Central Arkansas lead to 50-46 with 6:12 remaining.
Over the next four minutes the Sugar Bears would deliver the knock-out blow. UCA would outscore the Lady Governors 13-7, with a three from sophomore guard Jenna Cook putting Central Arkansas ahead 63-53 with two minutes to play.
Despite 10 points in the final two minutes from Austin Peay, Cook and junior guard Cheyanne Kemp hit crucial free throws down the stretch to help UCA hang on for the win.
Cook and Kemp both reached 14 points to lead the Sugar Bears in scoring.
The Sugar Bears were active on the boards, winning the rebounding battle 34-23, including 17 offensive rebounds.
UCA Head Coach Tony Kemper shared that he felt the rebounding effort from his team was critical to getting the win.
Kemper said, “I thought our energy level on the offensive glass was a separator, and up until right at the end I thought we got most of the key [rebounds] on their end.”
While a 67 point outing would not typically be considered a great offensive night from the Sugar Bears, Kemper was very pleased with the performance his team put together on that end.
Kemper said, “We just put on a clinic against Austin Peay compared to what we usually do. Every time we’ve played them it’s an absolute war to get out of the forties. They’re super athletic, they guard you really well, and they rebound the ball well.”
The Sugar Bears have a quick turnaround as they head to Carrollton, Ga. for a pivotal matchup against the West Georgia Wolves (17-9, ASUN 10-5) Saturday, Feb. 21 at 1:00 p.m.
All UCA Basketball games can be streamed on ESPN+.