TUPELO, Miss. —

“We’re dysfunctional, and it works for us.”

Whatever it is the Sugar Bears do, it works. And while it may not be ideal, coach Checola Seals has learned to live with it.

“We’re dysfunctional,” she said after her team’s 70-56 win over Montevallo (16-13) Thursday night. “Everything we do is different. We’re not gonna play by the rules with anything … You don’t know what to expect – I don’t even know what to expect. They just tell me ‘don’t worry – we got this, Coach’.”

It looked like the Sugar Bears would get it early, jumping out to an 11-0 lead in the game’s first five minutes. Caronica Randle got the game’s first six, and UCA added five more before the Lady Falcons got on the board on Brandi Roberts’ putback, their 13^th shot of the game.

“The kids were a little shaky coming out,” Seals said. “We were able to just get on them and start poundin’ ‘em and poundin’ ‘em. Caronica did a great job of getting us started, Micaela (Thomas) did a great job of getting us started.”

Thomas, who had 15 points and 13 rebounds, had 6 boards in the first 7:00 and helped establish the tempo from the outset.

“The season’s over and now it’s one-and-done,” Thomas said. “I’m a senior and I don’t wanna see this end yet. I knew I had to step up my game and my team needed me to do that in order for us to get past the first round.”

The team needed everything it could get from those two in the game’s early stages, since usual catalysts Carone Harris and Traci Graham couldn’t find the mark early on.

“Carone started out shaky, Traci started out shaky,” Seals said.

Harris’ early play wasn’t even worthy of being called a slow start, according to Seals.

“Slow is an understatement,” she said. “I’d say more like molasses in wintertime. She was moving like sap out of a tree.”

It took her a while to get moving, but the Lady Falcons couldn’t stop her from getting to the free throw line as she scored 13 of her game-high 23 from the line.

The entire UCA team found success at the free-throw line, shooting 25-31, which turned out to be its saving grace.

“You have to make free throws,” Seals said. “That’s something we harp on. Those are easy points and as much as we go to the hole and drive, we’re going to get fouled so we have got to make free throws.”

On a night they shot 39.6 percent from the floor and 17.6 percent from 3-point range, it was the free throws that carried them.

“Even if we shot 10 percent, we’re still going to fight,” Seals said. “We’ve always got a backup plan – and free throws seem to be it, so we’re gonna stick with it.”

After getting out to the early lead, UCA let Montevallo back in the game and kept them hanging around for the rest of the contest.

“We never closed the door on them and we should have,” Seals said. “If we ever got up 15 or 20 I wouldn’t know what to do.

That’s a normal pattern for us – get up 10, 15 and let them come back. But, the kids know what to do when it comes to crunch time. They know we’ve got to score.”

They got the one big score they needed when, with 5:11 remaining and the Lady Falcons within six, Thomas hit a 3 that sparked an 8-0 Sugar Bears run.

“I think so,” Thomas said of the shot swinging the momentum back in UCA’s favor. “We hadn’t shot well from the 3-point line all night. We tried to pound it in to Caronica but she was getting double and triple-teamed. I felt like when I hit that it gave us a lift.”

Randle, who dropped 18 points in the first half, we held to only two in the second.

“Early in the game I was looking at the baseline,” Randle said. “They had good helpside. If you went to the middle five people would close in. I was looking baseline because she was playing topside and gave me the baseline, so I took it.

“In the second half they were on me – they were all pushing me under the goal. I wasn’t worried about it though as long as the rest of my teammates stepped up and won this ballgame for me. It was okay, as long as we were winning.”





		Sugar Bears slide past Montevallo to semis

		TUPELO, Miss. — “We’re dysfunctional, and it works for us.” Whatever it is the Sugar Bears do, it works. And while it may not be ideal, coach Checola Seals has learned to live with it. “We’re dysfunctional,” she said after her team’s 70-56 win over Montevallo (16-13) Thursday night. “Everything we do is different. We’re not gonna play by the rules with anything … You don’t know what to expect – I don’t even know what to expect. They just tell me ‘don’t worry – we got this, Coach’.” It looked like the Sugar Bears would get it early, jumping out to an 11-0 lead in the game’s first five minutes. Caronica Randle got the game’s first six, and UCA added five more before the Lady Falcons got on the board on Brandi Roberts’ putback, their 13^th shot of the game. “The kids were a little shaky coming out,” Seals said. “We were able to just get on them and start poundin’ ‘em and poundin’ ‘em. Caronica did a great job of getting us started, Micaela (Thomas) did a great job of getting us started.” Thomas, who had 15 points and 13 rebounds, had 6 boards in the first 7:00 and helped establish the tempo from the outset. “The season’s over and now it’s one-and-done,” Thomas said. “I’m a senior and I don’t wanna see this end yet. I knew I had to step up my game and my team needed me to do that in order for us to get past the first round.” The team needed everything it could get from those two in the game’s early stages, since usual catalysts Carone Harris and Traci Graham couldn’t find the mark early on. “Carone started out shaky, Traci started out shaky,” Seals said. Harris’ early play wasn’t even worthy of being called a slow start, according to Seals. “Slow is an understatement,” she said. “I’d say more like molasses in wintertime. She was moving like sap out of a tree.” It took her a while to get moving, but the Lady Falcons couldn’t stop her from getting to the free throw line as she scored 13 of her game-high 23 from the line. The entire UCA team found success at the free-throw line, shooting 25-31, which turned out to be its saving grace. “You have to make free throws,” Seals said. “That’s something we harp on. Those are easy points and as much as we go to the hole and drive, we’re going to get fouled so we have got to make free throws.” On a night they shot 39.6 percent from the floor and 17.6 percent from 3-point range, it was the free throws that carried them. “Even if we shot 10 percent, we’re still going to fight,” Seals said. “We’ve always got a backup plan – and free throws seem to be it, so we’re gonna stick with it.” After getting out to the early lead, UCA let Montevallo back in the game and kept them hanging around for the rest of the contest. “We never closed the door on them and we should have,” Seals said. “If we ever got up 15 or 20 I wouldn’t know what to do. That’s a normal pattern for us – get up 10, 15 and let them come back. But, the kids know what to do when it comes to crunch time. They know we’ve got to score.” They got the one big score they needed when, with 5:11 remaining and the Lady Falcons within six, Thomas hit a 3 that sparked an 8-0 Sugar Bears run. “I think so,” Thomas said of the shot swinging the momentum back in UCA’s favor. “We hadn’t shot well from the 3-point line all night. We tried to pound it in to Caronica but she was getting double and triple-teamed. I felt like when I hit that it gave us a lift.” Randle, who dropped 18 points in the first half, we held to only two in the second. “Early in the game I was looking at the baseline,” Randle said. “They had good helpside. If you went to the middle five people would close in. I was looking baseline because she was playing topside and gave me the baseline, so I took it. “In the second half they were on me – they were all pushing me under the goal. I wasn’t worried about it though as long as the rest of my teammates stepped up and won this ballgame for me. It was okay, as long as we were winning.”

				Renita Dobbins grabs a loose ball and takes off down the court in the first half of the Sugar Bears’ game with Montevallo.



				Carone Harris drives down the lane and puts in a layup Thursday. Harris scored 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists in the Sugar Bears win over Montevallo.