CONWAY, Ark. – With one game left on the schedule, the Central Arkansas women’s basketball team heads to Nashville, Tenn., to face the Lipscomb Bisons on Saturday. Tied in the ASUN standings, the winner of this final regular season game earns the right to host the first round of the ASUN Championship. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. CT.
Everything gets put on the line on Saturday, with the teams mirrored at 4-11 in ASUN play. Despite Lipscomb winning the first matchup earlier in the season, the winner of this game takes the fourth and final hosting site for the first round of the ASUN Championship, while the other will travel to the four seed in the East Division, Jacksonville.
Both teams suffered losses in their last games, with Central Arkansas falling to the two seed North Alabama on Thursday. After keeping it close for most of the first half, the Lions’ shooting carried them to victory. Freshman Ruth Balogun played the best game of her young career, recording her first double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Other freshman made an impact for the Sugar Bears, as Lashiyah Fowler knocked down a pair of three-pointers and Randrea Wright added eight points and four assists.
Another moment of note against North Alabama came just 16 seconds into the game. Coming in for an injured Jayla Cody, Hannah Langhi entered her 132nd career game, tying Central Arkansas’ all-time record for games played in a career. Saturday, entering the game at any point will make her the all-time leader in Sugar Bear history.
On the other end of the court, Lipscomb played Bellarmine on Thursday, falling by 20 points itself. Only scoring four points in the first quarter, the Bisons fought back to make it a single-digit deficit at the midway point. From there, hot shooting by the Knights propelled them to the victory, their first conference win of the season.
With the loss on Thursday, Lipscomb enters the weekend with losses in nine of its last 10 games. Its lone win came against North Alabama last weekend, taking an 11-point win over the Lions. In each of the nine losses, field goal percentage has played a key role; every loss for the Bisons has come with a lower field goal percentage than their opponents. The same cannot be said for any other statistic during this stretch, when Lipscomb shoots better from the floor, they win.
Last time the Sugar Bears and Bisons faced off, it was Lipscomb taking the win. All nine players that entered the game for Lipscomb scored, with Jalyn Holcomb leading the way with 14 points. Lucy Ibeh recorded a double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds, but 18 Sugar Bear turnovers allowed Lipscomb to score 22 points in response.
Game time against the Bisons is set for 3:30 p.m. at Allen Arena in Nashville, Tenn. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and available on the radio at 91.3 The Bear.
https://ucasports.com/news/2022/2/25/womens-basketball-sugar-bears-battle-lipscomb-for-asun-hosting-rights-on-saturday.aspx
