The Central Arkansas women’s basketball team was unable to recover from a difficult second quarter and lost to Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) 64-54 in an ASUN Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon.
With this loss, Central Arkansas now holds a 9-7 overall record and is 2-2 in conference play. Cheyanne Kemp led the Sugar Bears with 13 points, but the team struggled offensively, shooting just 32 percent from the field and 16 percent from beyond the arc.
Central Arkansas started strong defensively, scoring the first six points of the game and building a 10-2 lead early on. EKU responded with its own run, tying the game at 11-11 late in the first quarter before Paris Santacaterina hit a three-pointer to give Central Arkansas a slight edge after one period.
The second quarter saw EKU shift momentum by opening with a 12-2 run, turning Central Arkansas’s lead into a seven-point advantage for the Colonels. The Sugar Bears had difficulty finding their rhythm offensively, making their first field goal of the quarter with just over three minutes remaining. By halftime, EKU held a double-digit lead.
In the third quarter, Central Arkansas attempted to close the gap with contributions from its bench, which scored 11 points in that period. The Sugar Bears narrowed EKU’s lead to ten late in the third quarter, but another three-pointer by EKU pushed it back to thirteen heading into the final frame. Despite efforts in the fourth quarter, Central Arkansas could not mount a significant comeback and suffered only its second regular season home loss in three seasons.
Looking ahead, Central Arkansas will travel to Florida next week for games against Jacksonville University on Thursday and North Florida on Saturday.
