The Central Arkansas women’s basketball team secured a 79-72 victory over the University of North Florida (UNF) on Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida. The win improves the Sugar Bears’ record to 10-8 overall and 3-3 in ASUN conference play.
Shae Littleford led Central Arkansas with a season-high 25 points, including four three-pointers. Cheyanne Kemp and Jenna Cook each contributed 16 points, both making multiple shots from beyond the arc. The team was effective at the free throw line, converting 17 out of 19 attempts.
UNF started strong behind Dezuray McGill, who scored her team’s first 13 points and helped build an early lead. Central Arkansas responded with balanced scoring from all five starters to erase the deficit by the end of the first quarter. “Down two with about two minutes to go, Littleford buried a three in between Bree Stephens scores to give the Sugar Bears a five-point lead after one,” according to team sources.
The Sugar Bears opened the second quarter with six straight points and extended their advantage to double digits following back-to-back three-pointers from Cook. By halftime, Central Arkansas led by as many as 15 before UNF cut it to 13 at the break.
Central Arkansas had one of its most efficient shooting halves this season, making 58 percent of its field goals and three-point attempts while going perfect from the free throw line in the first half. Despite UNF’s lower shooting percentage, offensive rebounds kept them within reach.
In the third quarter, Central Arkansas maintained its double-digit lead for most of the period. A late run by UNF narrowed it to single digits entering the final frame.
Early in the fourth quarter, UNF trimmed Central Arkansas’s lead to five points before Littleford responded with another key three-pointer. The Sugar Bears relied on free throws down the stretch—making ten out of twelve attempts in the fourth—to secure their road win. Littleford scored twelve points in that final period alone.
Central Arkansas will return home for four games over two weeks at Farris Center as they continue ASUN conference play, starting next Wednesday against West Georgia at 6:30 p.m.
