CONWAY, Ark. – Southeastern Louisiana jumped out to a 12-point second quarter lead on Central Arkansas but the Sugar Bears used a 36-3 third-quarter run to pull away to an 80-58 Southland Conference victory in the Farris Center Wednesday night.
Central Arkansas (18-2, 8-1) won its eighth straight game while Southeastern (3-17, 2-7) dropped its fifth straight.
KaeLynn Boyd led Southeastern with 13 points and six assists.
Kyle Felton and
Nanna Pool had eight points and five rebounds apiece.
Peaches Anderson and
Bre Warren also had eight points for the Lady Lions who shot 34.4 percent for the game after shooting 43.3 percent in the first half. The 58 points were the third most allowed this season by Central Arkansas which came in allowing a nation-best 48.2 points per game.
UCA shot 55.6 percent over the final 20 minutes in finishing at 46.5 percent for the game. Maggie Proffitt scored a game-high 22 points while Kendara Watts had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. The Sugar Bears out-rebounded the Lady Lions 53-32.
Southeastern jumped out to a 9-4 lead on a Boyd free throw with 6:11 left in the first quarter. UCA came back to take a 10-9 lead on a Watts layup at the 3:06 mark. Four lead changes later, Anderson put the Lady Lions ahead 15-14 with a layup with 1:50 left. A Boyd 3 made it 20-14 at the end of the quarter.
Boyd and Anderson hit 3s to stretch the lead to 26-14 with 7:57 left in the half. UCA then went on a 16-3 run to go ahead 30-29 on a Brianna Mullins putback with 1:04 remaining. But Boyd countered with a jumper with 47 seconds left to give the Lady Lions a 31-30 halftime lead.
It would be Southeastern's last lead, however, as Proffitt opened the third quarter with a 3, then took a steal in to make it 35-31. It would be the start of a 25-0 run by the Sugar Bears who went up 55-31 on a Taylor Strickland jumper at the 3:34 mark. An Anderson 3 with 3:34 left accounted for the Lady Lions' only points of the period as Southeastern went 1-for-15 from the field. A Sandy Jackson jumper with 1:31 left gave the Sugar Bears a 66-34 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Southeastern, which finished up a four-game road trip with the loss, opens a four-game homestand Saturday against Abilene Christian at 1 p.m. in the University Center. The game is the opener of a doubleheader against ACU with the Southeastern men and is Military Appreciation Day. Anyone with a valid military I.D. will receive free admission.
