The University of Central Arkansas women’s basketball team rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat North Alabama 67-56 and advance to the ASUN Championship semifinals.The win improves the Sugar Bears to 21-10 and marks the third straight season the program has reached the conference tournament semifinals.
Laylah Reese led all scorers with 18 points off the bench, while Jenna Cook added 12. Shae Littleford and Bree Stephens each finished with 11 points. Central Arkansas also received a big boost from its reserves, with the bench outscoring North Alabama 33-3.
Central Arkansas scored the first points of the game on a basket by Cheyanne Kemp, but North Alabama responded with a 13-0 run to build an early lead. The Sugar Bears gradually worked their way back, and Reese sparked the offense with a strong second quarter, scoring 13 first-half points.
Despite the push, Central Arkansas trailed by four at halftime.
The Sugar Bears took control after the break. A 9-2 run early in the third quarter flipped the lead in favor of Central Arkansas as the defense held North Alabama to just nine points in the period.
Central Arkansas continued to build the lead in the fourth quarter. Cook and Littleford opened the period with a 6-0 run, and Stephens later pushed the advantage to double digits with just over four minutes remaining.
The Sugar Bears sealed the win by holding North Alabama to just six points over the final seven minutes.
Central Arkansas will face Jacksonville in the ASUN semifinal Saturday at 12:30 p.m. CT, looking to reach its third consecutive ASUN Championship final.
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