The University of Central Arkansas women's basketball team faced serious adversity for the first time this season on its last road trip.
After an 8-1 start to conference play, the Sugar Bears head to Florida for a battle with six-time defending ASUN regular-season champion Florida Gulf Coast. After that, UCA traveled to face Stetson, which was just behind it in the standings.
UCA (16-8, 8-3 ASUN) dropped both of those games, a 65-43 beatdown at the hands of the Eagles and a 57-56 loss to the Hatters.
The highlights from the trip were few and far between. Jade Upshaw had a team-high 14 points against Florida Gulf Coast but followed that with five against Stetson. Cheyenne Banks had 10 points and eight rebounds against Stetson, but that came after having 0 points and 0 rebounds two nights before. Randrea Wright had more turnovers (11) in the two games than she did points (eight).
The one constant, and an increasingly crucial member of the Sugar Bears' starting lineup, was junior forward Bree Stephens.
The native of Australia joined UCA from Dodge City (Kan.) Community College before the season, along with sisters Leah and Jenna Rose Mafua, in first-year Coach Tony Kemper's first recruiting class.
Against Stetson, she turned it up a notch, scoring a career-high 16 points, grabbing 4 rebounds and hitting a season-high 3 three-pointers.
"What she's tried to do to put together good basketball has been difficult," Kemper said. "She missed a ton of early-season practice, so she'd practice and then she was out for like a month. And then it was basically like practice a couple days and go play games. And it is hard to get rhythm that way.
"We [are] extremely hard to guard when she's attacking like that. And so I'm happy for her. She's definitely played better, and I think she feels like that, too."
-- Sam Lane
UAPB WOMEN
Shorthanded showdown
The battle between the top two women's teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conference didn't quite go as planned for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on Monday.
Jackson State (16-6, 11-0) ran its winning streak to 11 games when it left Pine Bluff with a 72-56 victory at H.O. Clemmons Arena in Pine Bluff. The Tigers managed to completely pull away, but the margin may not have been as wide as the final spread suggested.
Both teams attempted 60 field goals, with UAPB (13-11, 8-3) making 19 compared to 21 for Jackson State. The Golden Lions were outrebounded 45-43, committed 11 turnovers to the Tigers' 13 and made six less free throws (21-16). While those differences were small, they eventually added up to a 16-point loss to the three-time defending regular-season champions, who've won 60 of their past 62 conference games.
But the glaring difference in their initial meeting of the season was the fact that UAPB was missing its leading scorer. Zaay Green, who's the reigning HBCU National Player of the Week, is dealing with a knee injury and was forced to watch the matchup from the sidelines. The senior is averaging 16.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for the Golden Lions, who had their five-game winning streak snapped.
UAPB was also without center Maori Davenport. The 6-5 senior is still recovering from a concussion and has been out the past two games.
-- Erick Taylor
UALR WOMEN
Harris-Smith returns
UALR point guard Jaiyah Harris-Smith is expected to return to the starting line tonight against Morehead State. After missing four games with a knee injury, Harris-Smith came off the bench twice last week.
Against Tennessee-Martin on Feb. 6, Harris-Smith played less than four minutes in her first action back. Two days later at Western Illinois, she was on the floor 32 minutes in a 50-41 win over the Leathernecks.
With their primary ball-handler back in the lineup, Jayla Brooks will return to her shooting guard position where she has been the top scoring threat from three-point range for the Trojans. A junior from Miami, Harris-Smith is averaging 6.2 points and 5.8 assists per game
In 23 games this season, Harris-Smith has produced 40 steals.
-- Mike Harley
ARKANSAS STATE MEN
A model of consistency
In a season that has seen its share of highs and lows, Arkansas State senior guard Caleb Fields has been a consistent presence on the floor. He is shooting a career-high 46.8% from the field while averaging nearly 32 minutes per game.
In the Red Wolves' 75-63 win at Louisville on Dec. 13, Fields scored 20 points and dished out eight assists in the upset victory. In a home win over Texas State on Jan. 11, Fields totaled 35 points and 10 assists in ASU's 85-82 win.
With 12.9 points and 6.0 assists per game, Fields is one of 12 players nationally and the only player in the Sun Belt Conference averaging 12 or more points and six or more assists. Fields has scored 10 or more points in 12 games and dished out double-digit assists in five. He also has recorded three double-doubles on the season.
First-year Coach Bryan Hodgson has experimented with 10 different starting lineups so far this season, but Fields has started in all but two games. The Red Wolves are 4-1 in games where Fields has recorded 10 or more assists and also 4-1 when he scores 20 or more points.
-- Mike Harley