HOT SPRINGS — The greatest season in Sugar Bears history came to a close in the Final Four last Thursday in a fashion nearly as great as the season the UCA women pieced together.

A night after toppling a brash, cocky bunch from Shaw, the then-No.l team in the country, the Sugar Bears (28-7) found themselves down 67-60 to the No. 2 Washburn Lady Blues (35-2) with 46.9 seconds to play in the national semifinal game.

Which was more than enough time for Carone Harris to make the improbable seem routine yet again.

As she’s done time and time again, Harris, who scored a game-high 33 points and was named to the All-Tournament team, strapped the team on her shoulders and assumed the role of the most dominant force on the floor.

Lora Westling’s free throw gave the Lady Blues the 67-60 lead, and Harris came down and hit her (and the team’s) second 3 of the night to cut the lead to four with 40.2 seconds remaining.

After several fruitless foul attempts over the next 15 seconds, Harris was able to force a jump ball.

Possession: UCA.

On the ensuing possession, Harris got the defender in the air and stepped underneath and let another 3 fly. As the ball left her hand, the referee’s whistle blew, and a second later, the ball passed through the rim.

Basket good, foul on Washburn.

Free throw, four-point play, tie ballgame.

“I remember telling my teammates it’s not over,” Harris said. “They look for me to score, especially with Caronica out. I knew what I had to do.”

Fellow senior Micaela Thomas, who just missed a double-double in her final game with 9 points and 10 rebounds, knew Harris would go ahead and do it.

“I never doubted we would win,” she said. “I’ve seen Carone Harris do it too many times. It’s never over ‘til the last buzzer sounds.”

Randle, who fouled out after scoring 24 points and grabbing 17 rebounds, could do nothing but watch.

“I knew somehow we were going to pull it out,” she said. “It was tough fouling out. There was nothing I could do but sit and cheer.”

In 23 seconds, Harris had single-handedly taken the Sugar Bears from down seven to a tie.

And then it took Washburn’s Cindy Keeley only three seconds to undo it.

After Harris’ free throw, Keeley got open for a layup on the other end with 14.5 seconds to go to put Washburn ahead 69-67.

The Sugar Bears advanced the ball to halfcourt and took a timeout to talk things over. After breaking the huddle, the Sugar Bears had plans of a play to get an open shot close to the goal for the tie.

Harris had other ideas. No ties, just win or go home.

In nearly the same spot as the shot before, Harris let go of another 3, this time for the win and a spot in the national championship game.

However, Washburn’s 5-11 junior guard April Roadhouse got a hand on it and partially blocked the shot.

Ballgame.

“Yeah, I touched it a little bit,” Roadhouse said. “But not too much, though.”

But just enough.

“Oh she blocked the shot,” Harris said. “Fair and square.”

The exciting conclusion was vastly different from the rest of the game, a sloppy yet close affair in which the Sugar Bears shot 27.5 percent and the Lady Blues 38.7 as the teams changed leads five times and had 11 ties.

“It was a very tough game,” UCA coach Checola Seals said. “We played hard ‘til the very end. It doesn’t get any better than that. Doesn’t get any better.”

Washburn coach Ron McHenry was happy to come away with a win in the well-contested battle.

“That was a gritty win,” he said. “We didn’t play very well, and I think Central Arkansas had a lot to do with that. Both teams struggled shooting, and both played good defense. There at the end, the Harris kid took over. She’s a pretty complete player. I think April [Roadhouse] sometimes is really our best player. Thought she played awfully well for us, especially at the end.”

UCA led 28-26 at the half, having held Washburn center Carla Sintra to 1 of 8 shooting while picking up three fouls, including a technical for abusing a megaphone.

Sintra came out a different player in the second half, hitting 6 of 8 from the field en route to 19 points for the night.

“In the second half we got Carla locked in and that was tough for them,” McHenry said. “The girls did a good job of getting the ball to her.”

Seals said it was her own team’s shooting woes, not Sintra’s play, that made the difference.

“We’re used to giving up 30-40 points in the post,” Seals said. “But we usually shoot a higher percentage. We had the looks; they just weren’t falling.”

Keeley said she was happy to send, the largely pro-Sugar Bears crowd home with a bitter taste in their mouths.

“We’ve played in a lot of tough places and we’re used to the crowds,” she said. “It’s exciting to have a huge crowd here and they all leave disappointed.”

And while the Sugar Bears may have left disappointed, they didn’t leave without their pride in tow.

“I still feel great,” Harris said. “People underestimated us all year. We did it just by making it here. I’m proud of my team and of Coach Seals. And we’re gonna hold our heads up high.”

UCA 87, Shaw 73

In Wednesday’s quarterfinal game against No. 1 Shaw, the Sugar Bears went through what was a microcosm of their season, starting off ugly before turning things around in a dominant second half to get the school record-tying 28th win in an 87-73 defeat of the Lady Bears.

Coming out of the gate out of sync against the hyperactive Lady Bears’ defense, UCA fell in a deep hole early, trailing 29-17.

“At this point, Carone and I are going back and forth,” UCA coach Checola Seals said. “She told me ‘don’t worry, coach, we got this.’ I told her well if you got this then please start playing.”

And the Sugar Bears did just that.

“I told her ‘let us handle this’,” said Harris, who had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6 steals. “And she just sat there and do what she do.”

With 6:36 to go in the first, Victoria Richards opened the floodgates with a 3 from the corner.

On the next trip down, Traci Graham popped another from beyond the arc to make it a 6-point game. After a Shaw basket, UCA closed out the half with a 13-4 run led by 3s from Harris and Graham. A Caronica Randle bucket inside on their trademark inbounds play, and a pull-up jumper and 3 from Micaela Thomas. Thomas hit the biggest shot of the stretch, burying a 3 with 17 seconds to go to give the Sugar Bears their first lead and a 36-35 edge going into the locker room.

“Personally, that gave me a huge lift,” Thomas said. “It was huge for me and it was real big for our team.” She would go on to score 17 points and share game-high rebounding honors with Randle at 12.

In the second half, Shaw came out looking poised to have a run of their own, opening up the half 7-2 to take a four-point lead at 42-38.

But then, in what has become routine over the last month, Thomas played her senior role to perfection, stepping up and hitting the timely shot when her 3 drew UCA within one.

On the next trip down, Randle scored two of her game-high 27 off an offensive rebound, giving the Sugar Bears a lead they would never relinquish.

The margin was 13 after a Renita Dobbins free throw with 4:01 left, but Shaw — a pressing, quick-strike team — had one final push left in them.

A Nastassia Boucicault’s 3, Jessica Hawkins’ layup, Kiarsha Curtis’ free throws and a Joy Hairston shot from inside over a span of 1:17 pulled the Lady Bears within four. From there the free throw parade was on for the Sugar Bears as they knocked down 17 of 20 from the line to pull away.

“Tonight we played as a team,” Harris said. “That helped us overcome the problems we were having. They had some breakdowns. They expected us to fold big time early, but I guess we like coming back. We’ve been doing it a lot.”

Shaw, having lost for only the second time all season, had ample explanation for their rare misstep.

“I don’t want to take anything away from UCA,” Shaw coach Jacque Curtis said. “But we had a couple people banged up. Joy [Hairston] was still hurting from an injury in the regional and probably shouldn’t have played at all. And we had a couple players get food poisoning yesterday and they were dehydrated and our energy level just wasn’t there.”

Kiarsha Curtis, who led the Shaw scoring with 20, said it was all Shaw’s own (un)doing.

“My thought was I didn’t think UCA outplayed us,” she said. “We just didn’t play up to our ability. We probably could have played 110 percent better.”





		Sugar Bears historic run ends in Final Four

			by Josh Goff HOT SPRINGS — The greatest season in Sugar Bears history came to a close in the Final Four last Thursday in a fashion nearly as great as the season the UCA women pieced together. A night after toppling a brash, cocky bunch from Shaw, the then-No.l team in the country, the Sugar Bears (28-7) found themselves down 67-60 to the No. 2 Washburn Lady Blues (35-2) with 46.9 seconds to play in the national semifinal game. Which was more than enough time for Carone Harris to make the improbable seem routine yet again. As she’s done time and time again, Harris, who scored a game-high 33 points and was named to the All-Tournament team, strapped the team on her shoulders and assumed the role of the most dominant force on the floor. Lora Westling’s free throw gave the Lady Blues the 67-60 lead, and Harris came down and hit her (and the team’s) second 3 of the night to cut the lead to four with 40.2 seconds remaining. After several fruitless foul attempts over the next 15 seconds, Harris was able to force a jump ball. Possession: UCA. On the ensuing possession, Harris got the defender in the air and stepped underneath and let another 3 fly. As the ball left her hand, the referee’s whistle blew, and a second later, the ball passed through the rim. Basket good, foul on Washburn. Free throw, four-point play, tie ballgame. “I remember telling my teammates it’s not over,” Harris said. “They look for me to score, especially with Caronica out. I knew what I had to do.” Fellow senior Micaela Thomas, who just missed a double-double in her final game with 9 points and 10 rebounds, knew Harris would go ahead and do it. “I never doubted we would win,” she said. “I’ve seen Carone Harris do it too many times. It’s never over ‘til the last buzzer sounds.” Randle, who fouled out after scoring 24 points and grabbing 17 rebounds, could do nothing but watch. “I knew somehow we were going to pull it out,” she said. “It was tough fouling out. There was nothing I could do but sit and cheer.” In 23 seconds, Harris had single-handedly taken the Sugar Bears from down seven to a tie. And then it took Washburn’s Cindy Keeley only three seconds to undo it. After Harris’ free throw, Keeley got open for a layup on the other end with 14.5 seconds to go to put Washburn ahead 69-67. The Sugar Bears advanced the ball to halfcourt and took a timeout to talk things over. After breaking the huddle, the Sugar Bears had plans of a play to get an open shot close to the goal for the tie. Harris had other ideas. No ties, just win or go home. In nearly the same spot as the shot before, Harris let go of another 3, this time for the win and a spot in the national championship game. However, Washburn’s 5-11 junior guard April Roadhouse got a hand on it and partially blocked the shot. Ballgame. “Yeah, I touched it a little bit,” Roadhouse said. “But not too much, though.” But just enough. “Oh she blocked the shot,” Harris said. “Fair and square.” The exciting conclusion was vastly different from the rest of the game, a sloppy yet close affair in which the Sugar Bears shot 27.5 percent and the Lady Blues 38.7 as the teams changed leads five times and had 11 ties. “It was a very tough game,” UCA coach Checola Seals said. “We played hard ‘til the very end. It doesn’t get any better than that. Doesn’t get any better.” Washburn coach Ron McHenry was happy to come away with a win in the well-contested battle. “That was a gritty win,” he said. “We didn’t play very well, and I think Central Arkansas had a lot to do with that. Both teams struggled shooting, and both played good defense. There at the end, the Harris kid took over. She’s a pretty complete player. I think April [Roadhouse] sometimes is really our best player. Thought she played awfully well for us, especially at the end.” UCA led 28-26 at the half, having held Washburn center Carla Sintra to 1 of 8 shooting while picking up three fouls, including a technical for abusing a megaphone. Sintra came out a different player in the second half, hitting 6 of 8 from the field en route to 19 points for the night. “In the second half we got Carla locked in and that was tough for them,” McHenry said. “The girls did a good job of getting the ball to her.” Seals said it was her own team’s shooting woes, not Sintra’s play, that made the difference. “We’re used to giving up 30-40 points in the post,” Seals said. “But we usually shoot a higher percentage. We had the looks; they just weren’t falling.” Keeley said she was happy to send, the largely pro-Sugar Bears crowd home with a bitter taste in their mouths. “We’ve played in a lot of tough places and we’re used to the crowds,” she said. “It’s exciting to have a huge crowd here and they all leave disappointed.” And while the Sugar Bears may have left disappointed, they didn’t leave without their pride in tow. “I still feel great,” Harris said. “People underestimated us all year. We did it just by making it here. I’m proud of my team and of Coach Seals. And we’re gonna hold our heads up high.” UCA 87, Shaw 73 In Wednesday’s quarterfinal game against No. 1 Shaw, the Sugar Bears went through what was a microcosm of their season, starting off ugly before turning things around in a dominant second half to get the school record-tying 28th win in an 87-73 defeat of the Lady Bears. Coming out of the gate out of sync against the hyperactive Lady Bears’ defense, UCA fell in a deep hole early, trailing 29-17. “At this point, Carone and I are going back and forth,” UCA coach Checola Seals said. “She told me ‘don’t worry, coach, we got this.’ I told her well if you got this then please start playing.” And the Sugar Bears did just that. “I told her ‘let us handle this’,” said Harris, who had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6 steals. “And she just sat there and do what she do.” With 6:36 to go in the first, Victoria Richards opened the floodgates with a 3 from the corner. On the next trip down, Traci Graham popped another from beyond the arc to make it a 6-point game. After a Shaw basket, UCA closed out the half with a 13-4 run led by 3s from Harris and Graham. A Caronica Randle bucket inside on their trademark inbounds play, and a pull-up jumper and 3 from Micaela Thomas. Thomas hit the biggest shot of the stretch, burying a 3 with 17 seconds to go to give the Sugar Bears their first lead and a 36-35 edge going into the locker room. “Personally, that gave me a huge lift,” Thomas said. “It was huge for me and it was real big for our team.” She would go on to score 17 points and share game-high rebounding honors with Randle at 12. In the second half, Shaw came out looking poised to have a run of their own, opening up the half 7-2 to take a four-point lead at 42-38. But then, in what has become routine over the last month, Thomas played her senior role to perfection, stepping up and hitting the timely shot when her 3 drew UCA within one. On the next trip down, Randle scored two of her game-high 27 off an offensive rebound, giving the Sugar Bears a lead they would never relinquish. The margin was 13 after a Renita Dobbins free throw with 4:01 left, but Shaw — a pressing, quick-strike team — had one final push left in them. A Nastassia Boucicault’s 3, Jessica Hawkins’ layup, Kiarsha Curtis’ free throws and a Joy Hairston shot from inside over a span of 1:17 pulled the Lady Bears within four. From there the free throw parade was on for the Sugar Bears as they knocked down 17 of 20 from the line to pull away. “Tonight we played as a team,” Harris said. “That helped us overcome the problems we were having. They had some breakdowns. They expected us to fold big time early, but I guess we like coming back. We’ve been doing it a lot.” Shaw, having lost for only the second time all season, had ample explanation for their rare misstep. “I don’t want to take anything away from UCA,” Shaw coach Jacque Curtis said. “But we had a couple people banged up. Joy [Hairston] was still hurting from an injury in the regional and probably shouldn’t have played at all. And we had a couple players get food poisoning yesterday and they were dehydrated and our energy level just wasn’t there.” Kiarsha Curtis, who led the Shaw scoring with 20, said it was all Shaw’s own (un)doing. “My thought was I didn’t think UCA outplayed us,” she said. “We just didn’t play up to our ability. We probably could have played 110 percent better.”