Stephens steps up for UCA

The University of Central Arkansas women’s basketball team faced serious adversity for the first time this season on its last road trip.

After an 8-1 start to conference play, the Sugar Bears head to Florida for a battle with six-time defending ASUN regularseason champion Florida Gulf Coast. After that, UCA traveled to face Stetson, which was just behind it in the standings.

UCA (16-8, 8-3 ASUN) dropped both of those games, a 65-43 beatdown at the hands of the Eagles and a 5756 loss to the Hatters.

The highlights from the trip were few and far between. Jade Upshaw had a team-high 14 points against Florida Gulf Coast but followed that with five against Stetson. Cheyenne Banks had 10 points and eight rebounds against Stetson, but that came after having 0 points and 0 rebounds two nights before. Randrea Wright had more turnovers (11) in the two games than she did points (eight).

The one constant, and an increasingly crucial member of the Sugar Bears’ starting lineup, was junior forward Bree Stephens.

The native of Australia joined UCA from Dodge City (Kan.) Community College before the season, along with sisters Leah and Jenna Rose Mafua, in first-year Coach Tony Kemper’s first recruiting class.

Against Stetson, she turned it up a notch, scoring a career-high 16 points, grabbing 4 rebounds and hitting a season-high 3 threepointers.

“What she’s tried to do to put together good basketball has been difficult,” Kemper said. “She missed a ton of early-season practice, so she’d practice and then she was out for like a month. And then it was basically like practice a couple days and go play games. And it is hard to get rhythm that way.

“We [are] extremely hard to guard when she’s attacking like that. And so I’m happy for her. She’s definitely played better, and I think she feels like that, too.”