SUGAR BEARS CRUISE PAST SAM HOUSTON STATE FOR 20TH WIN

[Seminole Indian]

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — After struggling out of the gate at Sam Houston State on Wednesday, Central Arkansas controlled the final three quarters as the Sugar Bears cruised to a 73-53 victory over the Bearkats at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum.

The win – the Sugar Bears' 10th straight over the Bearkats – gives Central Arkansas its third consecutive 20-win season and sixth in the past nine seasons, the most among Southland Conference programs.

The Sugar Bears (20-8, 13-4 Southland) fell behind early as the Bearkats (4-22, 1-16) ran out to a 12-5 lead after the first period. But that lead would be short-lived as the Sugar Bears would pull ahead on a Maddie Goodner 3-pointer less than four minutes into the second quarter, and never trail again – outscoring the Bearkats by 27 over the final three periods.

After going just 2-for-10 in the first quarter, the Sugar Bears erupted for 24 points in the second, outscoring SHSU by 15 in the quarter to take a 29-21 halftime lead. It was more of the same in the third, with the Sugar Bears outscoring the Bearkats 22-12 as the lead ballooned to 18 before eventually growing to as many as 23 in the fourth.

Taylor Baudoin led the Sugar Bears with 26 points and 8 rebounds, her 8th 20-point game of the season and 4th in her last five games. It brings her career total to 1,109 – moving her into the Central Arkansas career Top 20.

In her return to Johnson Coliseum, Kamry Orr – who played her freshman season at SHSU – had 20 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Kierra Jordan had her 9th double-double of the season, scoring 10 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

The Sugar Bears shot 47.1 percent (24 of 51) for the game, including 53.7 percent (22-of-41) over the final three quarters, when they knocked down 6 of 8 from 3-point range led by Orr's 3-for-4. After committing eight first-quarter turnovers, the Sugar Bears committed just five the rest of the way as they outscored the Bearkats 16-10 in points off turnovers.

The regular season wraps up for the Sugar Bears on Saturday, facing Northwestern State at 3:00pm in the Farris Center as the first part of a doubleheader with the Bears and Demons to follow.


NOTES
• The Sugar Bears improve to 14-4 all-time against Sam Houston State, including winning the last 10 by an average of 14.4 points.
• In road/neutral site games against Southland opponents, the Sugar Bears are 28-3 (.903) over the past three seasons
• The Sugar Bears reached the 20-win mark for the 6th time in 19 seasons, having compiled a record of 190-95 (.667) and 111-44 (.716) during that span
• Of the Sugar Bears' 20 wins this season, 15 have been by double digits and 10 by at least 20, with an average margin of victory of 21.9


QUOTES
Head coach Sandra Rushing
"I'm happy with the win  – it wasn't pretty basketball, but we won. I don't know what it's going to take for us to come out of the gates better – this team is very, very capable, I know what we're capable of doing, we just have to do a better job of making decisions"

"You wonder if it's pressure – I'm still trying to figure this team out. I thought we played too fast – not pushing the ball, we were just too fast offensively in the first quarter. We only scored five. Once we settled down, we did a much better job. I'm still trying to figure this team out ... they really make me mad at times – I told them on the bench they're going to give me a heart attack. But they want to win. I'm just glad this ballgame is over."

http://www.ucasports.com/news/2018/2/28/womens-basketball-sugar-bears-cruise-past-sam-houston-state-for-20th-win.aspx