RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University women's basketball team forced 12 lead changes but didn't have enough in the tank, falling to Central Arkansas by a score of 63-59 on Thursday night inside Baptist Health Arena.
 
With the loss, EKU (19-11, 9-8 ASUN) falls to fifth place in the Atlantic Sun Conference women's basketball standings with one game left in the regular season.  The Colonels will be searching for back-to-back 20-win seasons on Saturday against Lipscomb.
 
EKU fifth year forward Jasmine McGinnis-Taylor led all players with 17 points and 12 rebounds in Thursday's loss.  The performance was her eighth double double this season and 13th of her career. 
 
Upperclassmen guards Kaitlyn Costner (15) and Alice Recanati (14) were the other two Colonels who ended with double figure point totals.  Recanati added five assists to her final line, bringing her school-leading career totals to 664 since 2020.  As of Thursday night, the Bergamo, Italy native is seventh among active NCAA Division I players in career assists.
 
EKU ended Thursday's game shooting 32 percent (24-of-75) from the floor and 26 percent (5-of-19) from beyond the arch.  The low-shooting percentage was the Colonels' worst effort since Jan. 16 in an overtime loss to Austin Peay at home.
 
As a team, EKU had assists on 16 of its 24 made field goals and pulled down 43 rebounds.  However, the high- effort on the glass was overshadowed by 51 board from Central Arkansas—the most rebounds allowed by EKU this season.
 
In the first quarter, Central Arkansas (21-7, 15-2 ASUN) went up by as much as five points with five minutes left in the period.  The Colonels would thunder back to take the lead with 2:28 on the clock off a converted and-one by Recanati.  Regardless of the effort, UCA claimed the first 10 minutes of play, 16-15, over EKU.
 
Costner scored the Colonels' first three field goals of the second quarter to give EKU a 22-14 lead over the Sugar Bears with just under seven minutes left in the half.  With one lead switch off a Cheyanne Kemp made banked-in three with 1:24 remaining, Recanati would score near the end of the frame giving EKU a 30-29 lead at the halftime buzzer.
 
Despite the relentless effort from McGinnis-Taylor, EKU couldn't get shot to fall in the third period making just five field goals in 25 attempts and was outscored, 16-11.  The Colonels and Sugar Bears each scored 18 points in the fourth, but the cold-shooting woes in the third doomed EKU, falling 63-59 at the final horn.
 
UCA's Elizabeth Abiara led the visitors with 14 points and 11 rebounds on 6-for-7 shooting, she was one of three players with 10 or more boards.  The Sugar Bears shot 37 percent (23-of-62) from the floor and knocked down eight threes to secure the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament next weekend.
 
EKU returns to action on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. ET against Lipscomb.  The Colonels are set to honor two members of their 2025 senior class prior to tipoff.  Fans can purchase tickets online here starting at just $5.
 
With a win on Saturday over Lipscomb and a Stetson loss to current league No. 1 FGCU, EKU would lock up the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament and host a game in Richmond on March 8.  With a loss, the Colonels would head to Florida as the No. 5 seed to face the Hatters.