CONWAY -- The University of Central Arkansas women's team overcame a sluggish start and dominated the final 11 minutes Tuesday in a 73-57 victory over Williams Baptist at the Farris Center.
UCA trailed for more than 28 minutes, but the Sugar Bears took control in the second half as they outscored Williams Baptist 25-4 over the final 11 minutes to defeat the Lady Eagles.
"I'm glad we won this game, and I'm glad it's over," UCA Coach Sandra Rushing said. "We didn't play our best basketball today. We've got to play with more passion and drive. I'm not happy with the effort at all."
The Sugar Bears (5-5) didn't take the lead for good until the 8:40 mark of the second half after the Lady Eagles (4-7) had built a lead as large as nine in the second half. But after shooting just 28.6 percent in the first half, the Sugar Bears made 16 of 30 (53.3 percent) in the second half and limited Williams Baptist to 29.6 percent shooting and just two field goals over the final 14:52 while forcing it into 13 second-half turnovers.
Trailing 53-50 with just more than 10 minutes to play, Brianna Mullins came up with one of UCA's nine second-half steals and scored on a layup to cut the deficit to one. Mullins put UCA ahead for good a few possessions later with a three-pointer that gave the Sugar Bears a 55-53 lead.
The run continued with a steal and layup by Terai Sadler, another steal and layup from Mullins -- who finished with seven steals -- and a three-point play from Brittany Agee as UCA led 62-53 with 6:24 left.
Michaela Thompson scored inside with 6:09 left to pull Williams Baptist to within seven, but that was the Lady Eagles' final field goal as the Sugar Bears scored 11 of the game's final 13 points.
Maggie Proffitt led the Sugar Bears with 19 points. Mullins added 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists to go along with her 7 steals in 38 minutes. Sadler finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 steal, and Kendara Watts added 10 points
Michaela Thompson led Williams Baptist with 20 points. Alisha Stone had 11 points, and Meagan Goza added 9 points, 9 rebounds and a game-high 5 assists.
Sports on 12/17/2014