Jan 27th, 2007 11:23PM
by:

By JOSH GOFF
UCA SID ASSISTANT

THIBODAUX, La. — Coming into Saturday's game with Nicholls State, University of Central Arkansas head coach Checola Seals-Hortons said her team needed to regain the shooting confidence it had seemingly lost in a 25.5 percent shooting effort Thursday night in a 55-50 loss to Southeastern Louisiana.

The Sugar Bears (9-11, 3-5 SLC) did just that, bouncing back with a 44.6 percent performance, including 38 percent (8 of 21) from 3-point range, as they found just enough buckets to stave off the Lady Colonels (3-15, 1-6) 74-72 at Stopher Gymnasium.

Trailing 50-43, the Sugar Bears headed to the huddle for the media timeout with 11:31 remaining in a funk – having scored just three points in the last four and a half minutes.

Coming out of the timeout, the Sugar Bears found their stroke as Allyson Sample hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and Caronica Randle followed with a pair of her own as UCA tore out on a 14-2 run to go ahead 57-52 – a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

"It was a tough game," Seals-Horton said. "Our legs are tired and our shots weren't falling and we weren't getting stops. The team came together, they fought and they won the game. They did a great job and they deserve this one.

"When Ally hits two 3s and then Caronica comes over and hits two 3s, that really opened it up and that's what we needed."

Randle, who led all scorers with a season-high 28, moved into fourth all time in career scoring at UCA. But, more importantly, she led her team to a much-needed road conference win.

"We didn't come all this way for two losses," she said. "We stepped up and got a win. Coming out of that timeout on that run was huge. Ally's a great shooter, and when she's on fire, it gets everybody else going. She knocked down her two 3s, and my confidence jumped up and I came back and knocked down a couple. They laid down on us because they didn't trust us with the 3s, so we brought it to them."

Following the barrage of 3s, Sample added the final of her eight second-half points, en route to 13 total and pushed UCA's lead to five. It swelled to eight at the 3:59 mark as Alex Velazquez hit a jumper to put the Sugar Bears ahead 67-59.
After Nicholls cut the lead to six, the teams both went scoreless for nearly 1:30. Shannon Oden, who narrowly missed a double-double with 9 points and 8 rebounds, broke the drought with a pair of free throws to push UCA's lead back to eight.

The Lady Colonels charged back with a six point run, capped by a 3-pointer by Jamie Octave — who led Nicholls with 19 points — to pull within two.
Leading 69-67 with 40 seconds remaining, UCA brought the ball across halfcourt and settled into their offensive set. With time ticking away and the Lady Colonels choosing not to foul, Renita Dobbins found a seam in the lane and hit an open layup to put UCA up 71-67 with 26 seconds to play.
Nicholls' Kelli Johnson answered with a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game with 16 seconds to play.

With nine seconds remaining, Octave fouled Velazquez, sending Velazquez to the line and Octave to the bench with her fifth foul.
Velazquez hit the first of two, then missed the second — but Sharece Love was there for the offensive rebound. Fouled by Johnson, Love stepped to the line and hit the pair to give the Sugar Bears a four-point lead with just six seconds remaining.

Nicholls' Katherine Plummer slashed to the bucket for an inconsequential layup at the buzzer, setting the final score.

"Our kids fought and they fought together," Seals-Horton said. "We're happy for Caronica moving into fourth place in scoring. We didn't tell her she was that close to it, like we're not telling her how close she is to that number three spot. We just need her to play, and that's what she does. She doesn't care about that stuff, and she's more concerned with us winning ballgames."

While catching her head coach or assistant coach Carone Harris for first or second, Randle is within reach of third place on the career list. But to her, it doesn't make much difference.

"All I can say is it's a blessing," she said. "I never knk as far as scoring until you guys tell me. I just come out and play every day like it's my last. It was a close game and we knew the refs were watching everything, and we just kept hitting our shots. That's the only thing that kept us in the game. I'm just happy to get this win, especially on the road so the bus ride home isn't as bad. Those 9 or 10 hours will kill you."