CONWAY, Ark. – Northwestern State fell behind early to a hot Central Arkansas offense, who then used its defense to come away with the 75-57 win on Wednesday night.
 
The Sugar Bears (7-5) jumped ahead in the first quarter thanks to a game-high 67 percent shooting effort from the field. And despite and second-quarter rally from the Demons (4-7) to cut the lead in half by the end of the second quarter, the top rated defense in the Atlantic Sun proved too much for NSU to crack in the second half.
 
"I thought the better team won tonight," head coach Anna Nimz said. "I don't believe we're 18-points less but collectively we didn't come out with the same tenacity and toughness we've been playing with on defense. They rallied in the second to send us into half time closer but we lost that fight that got us back in the game in the second half."
 
A stretch of five straight made field goals, including three straight conversions from beyond the arc, fueled the Sugar Bear's big, 26-point opening quarter. UCA finished the first going 8-for-9 from the field to complete the 10-for-15 overall effort to build a 16-point edge going into the second.
 
The Demons responded in the second quarter scoring the first four points of the period and putting together a 9-1 run going back to a Jenny Ntambwe layup at the end of the first quarter.
 
Ntambwe then drilled a mid-range jumper from the right side to cut the lead down to nine at the midpoint of the quarter and over the next four minutes of play helped fuel a 13-6 run to draw within two possessions late.
 
Ivona Miljanic swished a three and knocked down a longer two in the run before a power move at the basket from Jordan Todd, and ensuing free throw, brought the Demons within five at 38-33 with 34 seconds left in the half.
 
UCA got an and-1 play of their own with four second to go to push the lead back to eight as the halftime buzzer sounded.
 
"We had some kids come off the bench and score some buckets and do some nice things," Nimz said. "Jenny did a nice job for us tonight. I thought Ivona did some nice things and played a balanced game. But we struggled to hit shots and struggled to get the shots off. That made for limited attempts and when our defense wasn't as good as it needed to be they took advantage."
 
Ntambwe provide more bursts of offense in the second half as well, scoring seven points in the third quarter. It was her second and-1 chance in the period that brought the game to within six points at 48-42 with 3:22 remaining in the period.
 
But just like the previous opportunity, the Sugar Bears found an immediate response on the other end of the floor to keep the Demons at arm's length with a 10-point lead. UCA closed the third on a 7-2 run to take a 55-44 lead into the fourth.
 
A 9-2 Sugar Bear run over the first four and a half minutes of the fourth quarter helped them secure the victory. UCA shot better than 50 percent from the field in the second half, going 11-for-20 from the field and pulling away with a 9-for-12 effort from the line across the final 10 minutes of the game.
 
With their offense clicking the defense limited the Demons to 24 second-half points on just 25 total shot attempts in the final 20 minutes of the game. The limited chances on both sides, with UCA attempting a season-low 50 shots, magnified the Sugar Bear's ability to convert.
 
Ntambwe matched her career high with 16 points off the bench, going 7-for-11 from the field on the day. Woodson added 14 points as the only other Demons to reach double-digits in the game.