Central Arkansas' nine-game winning streak was snapped Wednesday night by Northwestern (La.) State in a 60-56 loss at the Farris Center in Conway.
The Sugar Bears (19-3, 9-2 Southland Conference), who lost for the first time since Jan. 2 against Abilene Christian, struggled from three-point range, shooting 2 of 13.
UCA missed a chance to win 20 games for the first time since the 2011-2012 season when it went 24-7 and appeared in the WNIT.
Janelle Perez led the Lady Demons (13-10, 7-5) with 22 points and five rebounds. She made 7 of 12 from the floor and hit 3 three-pointers.
Northwestern State led 49-39 with 7:44 to play, but UCA tied the game at 54-54 with 2:01 left on Maggie Proffitt's jumper.
Perez's third three-pointer put the Lady Demons back on top, 57-54, with 1:40 left. Mullins made two free throws to cut the lead to 57-56 with 1:24 left.
UCA got the ball back with 32 seconds left after a Northwestern State turnover. But Mullins turned the ball over with 15 seconds to play. Perez made two free throws with 10 seconds left to make it 59-56. After Proffitt missed a three-pointer, Perez made one of two free throws with two seconds left to seal the victory.
UCA was led by Taylor Baudoin's 19 points and five rebounds. Proffitt had 12 points while Raquel Logan added 10 points.
Cheyenne Brown and Keisha Lee each scored 12 points for Northwestern State. Brown also had eight rebounds.
The Sugar Bears are on the road for their next three games, beginning Saturday at Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
Sports on 02/11/2016