2023–24 Central Arkansas Sugar Bears basketball team

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 located in Conway, Arkansas as members of the ASUN Conference.

2023–24 Central Arkansas Sugar Bears basketball
WNIT, first round
Conference	ASUN Conference
Record	21–12 (11–5 ASUN)
Head coach	Tony Kemper (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Kaitlynn Pacholke Tanaeya BoClair Hailey Estes
Home arena	Farris Center
Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 ASUN women's basketball standings

v t e	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

Previous season

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

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 Tony Kemper (Fort Hays State) Assistant coach(es) Kaitlynn Pacholke (Newberry) Tanaeya BoClair (Utah) Hailey Estes (Henderson State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 26, 2023

Schedule and results

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						Alabama A&M Events Center  Huntsville, AL
ASUN regular season
January 6, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at North Alabama						CB&S Bank Arena  Florence, AL
January 11, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Lipscomb						Farris Center  Conway, AR
January 13, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Austin Peay						Farris Center  Conway, AR
January 18, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Eastern Kentucky						Baptist Health Arena  Richmond, KY
January 20, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Bellarmine						Freedom Hall  Louisville, KY
January 24, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Queens						Farris Center  Conway, AR
January 27, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Kennesaw State						KSU Convocation Center  Kennesaw, GA
February 1, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Jacksonville						Farris Center  Conway, AR
February 3, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		North Florida						Farris Center  Conway, AR
February 8, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Florida Gulf Coast						Alico Arena  Fort Myers, FL
February 10, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Stetson						Edmunds Center  DeLand, FL
February 15, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Bellarmine						Farris Center  Conway, AR
February 17, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Eastern Kentucky						Farris Center  Conway, AR
February 22, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Austin Peay						F&M Bank Arena  Clarksville, TN
February 24, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Lipscomb						Allen Arena  Nashville, TN
March 2, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		North Alabama						Farris Center  Conway, AR
ASUN tournament
March 8–16, 2024 TBA		TBA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[6][7]

References

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 2023-24 Regular Season Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 26, 2023.