CONWAY, Ark. — It took Central Arkansas a minute and 25 seconds to take the lead over Incarnate Word on Wednesday night – and they never gave it up.
The Sugar Bears controlled the game the entire way as they dismantled Incarnate Word 74-43 in the Farris Center as they snapped a four-game Southland Conference losing skid.
After scoring the game’s first four points, the Sugar Bears (6-9, 1-4 Southland) wasted little time putting some separation between themselves and the Cardinals (1-14, 1-3) – going on a 13-0 run in just over four minutes en route to building a lead as large as 15 in the opening quarter.
They continued to pour it on in the second quarter, outscoring the Cardinals 20-9 in the period to lead 40-16 at the intermission. The Cardinals fought back in the third quarter, outscoring the Sugar Bears 18-15 to trail 55-34 going into the final frame, but the Sugar Bears closed it out with a 19-9 advantage in the fourth for the 31-point victory.
Central Arkansas shot 46.7 percent from the floor – their best effort of the season against Division I competition – while holding UIW to 34.9 percent. The Sugar Bears tied their season high with eight 3-pointers – knocking down 42.1 percent – and limited UIW to 3-of-15 (20 percent).
Central Arkansas dominated the boards, getting 39 rebounds to UIW’s 26, including 16 on the offensive end as the Sugar Bears poured in 19 second-chance points to the Cardinals’ 6.
After committing a season-high 29 turnovers in Saturday’s loss at Lamar, the Sugar Bears bounced back with only 12 on Wednesday while forcing the Cardinals into 21, leading to 20 points.
Senior Kamry Orr led the way offensively once again for the Sugar Bears, notching her fifth 20-point game of the season. Orr, who had more points at the half (17) than UIW (16), finished with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals in 36 minutes.
Sophomore forward Hannah Langhi, making her fifth start of the season and first since November, had a season-high 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting and pulled down 8 rebounds with 2 assists and a block in 30 minutes. Junior guard Maddie Goodner added 10 points, 3 rebounds, a team-high 3 steals and an assist in 29 minutes – her most extensive action since playing 34 minutes at Oklahoma on Dec. 5.
Goodner’s 10 led a Sugar Bear reserve attack that scored 27 points, while UIW had just seven points off its bench. Antonija Bozic and Carley Hudspeth each had 6 points, with both knocking down a pair of 3-pointers; Savannah Lowe added 3 and Shay Johnson had 2.
The Sugar Bears will look start a winning streak on Saturday as Nicholls visits the Farris Center. The Colonels, last year’s Southland Tournament champions, started conference play 3-1 before falling 69-68 to McNeese on Wednesday for the Cowgirls’ first conference win of the season.
The game will be the first half of a doubleheader, with the Central Arkansas and Nicholls men to follow.