UCA Squeaks Past Lady Bucs
By Rori Eddie

Conway, AR--When things are going bad, sometimes they just get worse, as the Christian Brothers University women’s basketball team learned tonight inside the Farris Center.

The Lady Bucs, in the midst of their own five game slide, matched up with the University of Central Arkansas Sugar Bears, the "hottest" team in the Gulf South Conference boasting a seven game winning streak coming into tonight’s match-up.

In the end, UCA proved why it can pull claim to the top-spot in the GSC standings and a No. 2 ranking in the South Region Poll, as the Sugar Bears overcame a 39-29 halftime deficit to record the 73-68 victory over Christian Brothers.

The Lady Bucs shot a blistering 59.3 percent from the field for the first half, while connecting on 5-of-7 attempts from three-point territory. At the halftime buzzer, CBU would enjoy the 10-point cushion, but Central Arkansas returned to the hardwood in the second half to shoot 55.2 percent from the floor and 62.5 percent from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Lady Bucs collective shooting hand cooled to the clip of 12-of-27 from the field in the second half paired with a 33.3 shooting percentage from downtown.

The Sugar Bears pulled the contest even at 55 with 8:40 left on the game clock, and the duration would be a basket-for-basket game. The contest featured 11 lead changes and nine ties, with the last tie coming with only 45 ticks left to play.

UCA’s Kelsea Campbell would drain a three-pointer at the 34-second mark to put the Sugar Bear’s up by three. A strong defensive stand and a Bekka Middleton jumper with four seconds left would ice the five-point victory for Central Arkansas.

With the win, UCA now boasts a 12-1 stand overall and a still unblemished 3-0 record in the GSC, while CBU slides to 7-6 on the year and still looks for that illusive first "W" in league play at 0-3.

Middleton would finish with a game-high 20 points for the Sugar Bears, while Campbell ended with eight points on the night. Teammate Carone Harris collected a double-double performance behind 15 points and 10 steals, while Kristin Frase added 13 points.

On a 5-of-9 outing from three-point land, Sarah Condra once again paced the Lady Buccaneer offense with a team-high 17 points. Tamara Twinn finished the contest with 12 points, while freshman Rubenia Finley collected 11 points on the night. Crystal Howard and Mary Buford both matched 10 points.

Christian Brothers University tips-off next, Saturday, January 12th, against Henderson State University inside De La Salle Gymnasium at 2 PM.