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2023–24 Central Arkansas Sugar Bears basketball team

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2023–24 Central Arkansas Sugar Bears basketball
WNIT, first round
ConferenceASUN Conference
Record21–12 (11–5 ASUN)
Head coach
  • Tony Kemper (1st season)
Assistant coaches
  • Kaitlynn Pacholke
  • Tanaeya BoClair
  • Hailey Estes
Home arenaFarris Center
Seasons
← 2022–23
2024–25 →
2023–24 ASUN women's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Florida Gulf Coast † 16 – 0   1.000 29 – 5   .853
Stetson 12 – 4   .750 17 – 15   .531
Central Arkansas 11 – 5   .688 21 – 12   .636
Lipscomb 10 – 6   .625 17 – 13   .567
Eastern Kentucky 9 – 7   .563 22 – 12   .647
North Alabama 8 – 8   .500 12 – 18   .400
Austin Peay 8 – 8   .500 17 – 16   .515
Kennesaw State 7 – 9   .438 11 – 19   .367
Jacksonville 6 – 10   .375 11 – 20   .355
Bellarmine* 5 – 11   .313 10 – 19   .345
North Florida 3 – 13   .188 9 – 21   .300
Queens* 1 – 15   .063 7 – 22   .241
*Ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II
† 2024 ASUN tournament winner

The 2023–24 Central Arkansas Sugar Bears basketball team represented the University of Central Arkansas during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Sugar Bears, led by first-year head coach Tony Kemper, played their home games at the Farris Center in Conway, Arkansas as members of the ASUN Conference.

Previous season

[edit]

The Sugar Bears finished the 2022–23 season 8–21, 3–15 in ASUN play, to finish in a tie for 13th (last) place.[1] They failed to qualify for the ASUN tournament, as only the top 10 teams qualify.[2]

On February 25, 2023, head coach Sandra Rushing announced that she would be stepping down as head coach after 11 years at the helm.[3] On March 10, the school announced that Marshall head coach Tony Kemper would be named the team's new head coach.[4]

Roster

[edit]
2023–24 Central Arkansas Sugar Bears women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Jade Upshaw 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Jr Arkansas State Sapulpa, OK
G 1 Kinley Fisher 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Jr Mercer Greenwood, AR
G 2 Fatime Seck 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Franklin High School El Paso, TX
G 3 Randrea Wright 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Jr George Washington Carver High School Birmingham, AL
G 4 Cheyanne Kemp 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr Morrilton High School Morrilton, AR
F 5 Bree Stephens 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr Dodge City Community College Townsville, Australia
F 12 Destine Duckworth 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So SIU Edwardsville North Little Rock, AR
G 22 Leah Mafua 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Dodge City Community College Wellington, New Zealand
G 23 Kaidyn Beckwith 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) Fr Conway High School Conway, AR
G 24 Jenna Rose Mafua 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Dodge City Community College Wellington, New Zealand
F 30 Kierra Prim 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr Johnson County Community College Overland Park, KS
F 32 Elizabeth Abiara 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Lake Ridge High School Mansfield, TX
F 42 Cheyenne Banks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Jr Coffeyville Community College McLoud, OK
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 26, 2023

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Hendrix W 85–25  1–0
  14 – 2 tied   8 – 2 tied   3 – 2 tied  Farris Center (348)
Conway, AR
November 11, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Samford L 62–65  1–1
  15 – L. Mafua   7 – Banks   2 – 3 tied  Pete Hanna Center (306)
Homewood, AL
November 14, 2023*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		UT Martin W 56–45  2–1
  10 – Upshaw   14 – Banks   3 – Wright  Farris Center 
Conway, AR
November 18, 2023*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Northwestern State Postponed[5] Farris Center 
Conway, AR
November 20, 2023*
7:00 p.m., SECN+ 		at Arkansas L 67–81  2–2
  16 – Upshaw   9 – Banks   3 – Upshaw  Bud Walton Arena (4,194)
Fayetteville, AR
November 24, 2023*
2:00 p.m., MidcoSN+ 		at Denver
Denver Classic 		W 90–84  3–2
  21 – Fisher   16 – Stephens   2 – 5 tied  Hamilton Gymnasium (352)
Denver, CO
November 25, 2023*
12:00 p.m., MidcoSN+ 		vs. Nevada
Denver Classic 		L 65–67 OT 3–3
  16 – Fisher   5 – Banks   2 – 3 tied  Hamilton Gymnasium 
Denver, CO
November 29, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Lindenwood W 77–64  4–3
  19 – Fisher   7 – 2 tied   5 – Wright  Hyland Performance Arena (423)
St. Charles, MO
December 2, 2023*
1:00 p.m. 		at Little Rock W 63–58  5–3
  16 – L. Mafua   8 – Stephens   3 – Stephens  Jack Stephens Center (657)
Little Rock, AR
December 5, 2023*
5:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Tulsa L 58–60  5–4
  18 – Fisher   10 – Abiara   3 – L. Mafua  Reynolds Center (1,050)
Tulsa, OK
December 9, 2023*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Central Baptist W 69–32  6–4
  12 – Upshaw   9 – 2 tied   5 – Wright  Farris Center (380)
Conway, AR
December 16, 2023*
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Kansas L 48–69  6–5
  17 – Wright   7 – Banks   4 – Wright  Allen Fieldhouse (2,861)
Lawrence, KS
December 20, 2023*
2:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Northwestern State
Rescheduled from November 18 		W 75–57  7–5
  18 – L. Mafua   6 – Stephens   2 – 3 tied  Farris Center (389)
Conway, AR
December 29, 2023*
2:00 p.m. 		at Alabama A&M W 65-59  8-5
  20 – Fisher   8 – Upshaw   3 – 2 tied  Alabama A&M Events Center (1,103)
Huntsville, AL
ASUN regular season
January 6, 2024
5:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at North Alabama W 83-62  9-5
(1-0) 		 24 – Fisher   10 – Upshaw   3 – Stephens  CB&S Bank Arena (1,272)
Florence, AL
January 11, 2024
5:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Lipscomb W 66-61  10-5
(2-0) 		 17 – Wright   11 – Stephens   3 – Stephens  Farris Center 
Conway, AR
January 13, 2024
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Austin Peay W 56-55  11-5
(3-0) 		 19 – Upshaw   8 – L. Mafua   5 – L. Mafua  Farris Center (853)
Conway, AR
January 18, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Eastern Kentucky L 58-65  11-6
(3-1) 		 15 – Upshaw   9 – Stephens   4 – L. Mafua  Baptist Health Arena (524)
Richmond, KY
January 20, 2024
12:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Bellarmine W 73-59  12-6
(4-1) 		 23 – Fisher   11 – Stephens   3 – Fisher  Freedom Hall (483)
Louisville, KY
January 24, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Queens W 76-57  13-6
(5-1) 		 16 – Wright   8 – Abiara   3 – Upshaw  Farris Center (478)
Conway, AR
January 27, 2024
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Kennesaw State W 67-60  14-6
(6-1) 		 13 – 3 tied   6 – Upshaw   3 – 2 tied  KSU Convocation Center (794)
Kennesaw, GA
February 1, 2024
5:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Jacksonville W 71-58  15-6
(7-1) 		 18 – Upshaw   9 – Abiara   4 – 2 tied  Farris Center (427)
Conway, AR
February 3, 2024
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		North Florida W 58-44  16-6
(8-1) 		 16 – Upshaw   9 – Banks   4 – Stephens  Farris Center (722)
Conway, AR
February 8, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Florida Gulf Coast L 43-65  16-7
(8-2) 		 14 – Upshaw   5 – Stephens   1 – 5 tied  Alico Arena (1,602)
Fort Myers, FL
February 10, 2024
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Stetson L 56-57  16-8
(8-3) 		 16 – Stephens   8 – Banks   4 – L. Mafua  Edmunds Center 
DeLand, FL
February 15, 2024
5:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Bellarmine W 63-57  17-8
(9-3) 		 13 – Fisher   7 – 2 tied   4 – Wright  Farris Center (412)
Conway, AR
February 17, 2024
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Eastern Kentucky W 83-49  18-8
(10-3) 		 16 – Wright   9 – Stephens   4 – L. Mafua  Farris Center (434)
Conway, AR
February 22, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Austin Peay L 42-54  18-9
(10-4) 		 10 – L. Mafua   7 – L. Mafua   2 – L. Mafua  F&M Bank Arena (2,162)
Clarksville, TN
February 24, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Lipscomb L 59-65  18-10
(10-5) 		 16 – Wright   10 – Abiara   2 – 3 tied  Allen Arena (276)
Nashville, TN
March 2, 2024
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		North Alabama W 89-63  19-10
(11-5) 		 19 – Fisher   7 – Abiara   8 – Wright  Farris Center (495)
Conway, AR
ASUN tournament
March 9, 2024
7:00 pm 		(3) (6) North Alabama
Quarterfinals 		W 69-52  20-10
  17 – Upshaw   7 – Stephens   4 – Stephens  Farris Center (1,110)
Conway, AR
March 12, 2024
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		(3) (5) Eastern Kentucky
Semifinals 		W 68-57  21-10
  17 – Fisher   10 – Banks   4 – Stephens  Farris Center (1,845)
Conway, AR
March 16, 2024
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		(3) (1) Florida Gulf Coast
Championship 		L 47-76  21-11
  11 – 2 tied   8 – Upshaw   2 – 2 tied  Alico Arena (2,259)
Fort Myers, FL
WNIT
March 21, 2024*
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		Saint Louis
First round 		L 61-66  21–12
  17 – Upshaw   8 – Upshaw   4 – 2 tied  Farris Center (625)
Conway, AR
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Sources:[6][7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2022-23 Women's Basketball Standings". Atlantic Sun Conference. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  2. ^ "FGCU Claims Regular Season Title as 2023 @ASUNWBB Championship Field Finalized". Atlantic Sun Conference. March 1, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  3. ^ "RUSHING STEPS DOWN FROM UCA PROGRAM". University of Central Arkansas Athletics. February 25, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  4. ^ Walsh, David (March 11, 2023). "Marshall women's basketball coach Tony Kemper leaves for same position at Central Arkansas". West Virginia MetroNews. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  5. ^ Welborn, Brad (November 15, 2023). "Women's basketball game at Central Arkansas postponed". Northwestern State University Athletics. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  6. ^ "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". University of Central Arkansas Athletics. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  7. ^ "Central Arkansas Sugar Bears Schedule 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
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