CONWAY -- Tony Kemper burst up the sideline, giving his team a first-hand example of how he wanted them to back on defense.
The frantic high knees and outstretched arm to signal an open shooter resembled that of the Road Runner escaping the clutches of Wile E. Coyote. Except, this time, Kemper was trying to save his team from itself.
The University of Central Arkansas women's coach was more animated than usual Thursday night as his team defeated Bellarmine 63-57 at the Farris Center to clinch a spot in the ASUN Tournament for the first time in two years.
If you ask Kemper, embellished directions and booming team talks were what was needed to guide UCA to its first win in two weeks.
"We're struggling to keep our effort where it needs to be," Kemper said. "I was pretty active tonight because I'm trying to get them to that [inconsistent effort] cost us at Stetson. We played some stretches of that game just not as hard as we want to play it. A couple times there tonight, I could see it happening again."
The Sugar Bears (17-8, 9-3 ASUN) opened Thursday's game with five straight scoring possessions, but they finished the final 3:16 of the first quarter without a point.
In the second half, UCA outscored Bellarmine (8-16, 3-9) 19-9 in the third quarter, the lone period in which it married consistent offense with suffocating defense.
Kemper ramped up his antics late as the Sugar Bears' 12-point lead dwindled to five just over three minutes into the fourth quarter.
But as has been the case too many times for Kemper's liking this season, the Sugar Bears maintained their lead and picked up yet another conference win.
"It's really important basketball," Kemper said. "We're going to play 30 games, so there's going to be stretches where you're not very good. There's so many possessions that it's just back and forth, so it kind of looks like a heartbeat. And you got to learn to try to level off the bottoms of those things. I think when we've been really good this year. They've caught themselves when they needed to level off."
On the whole, UCA's defense performed as it has all season, holding Bellarmine to 35.7% from the field (20 of 56) and 3 of 15 on three-point attempts while forcing 14 turnovers. Hayley Harrison led all scorers with 19 points for the Knights, but she was held to two points and four missed field goals in the fourth quarter.
Other than the strong start and an even stronger start to the third quarter -- scoring eight of the first 10 points out of the break -- the Sugar Bears labored through most offensive possessions. Junior guard Kinley Fisher scored 10 points in the second half to lead UCA with 13. Randrea Wright scored 10 points thanks to two three-pointers. Bree Stephens and Jade Upshaw each added nine points.
With Kierra Prim (illness) and Elizabeth Abiara (concussion) both missing Thursday's game, freshman guard Cheyanne Kemp and sophomore forward Destine Duckworth saw increased workloads.
Kemp scored four points and had two assists in 15 minutes, playing key defensive possessions down the stretch. Duckworth provided much-needed reprieve for starting center Cheyenne Banks, totaling five points and four rebounds in 16 minutes.
"They were great," Kemper said. "We've been talking about depth all year, and I've got confidence in our depth. I thought both of those two impacted the game in the way we needed them to."
Kemper said Prim may return for Saturday's game against Eastern Kentucky, but Abiara is day-to-day as she works through the concussion protocol.