The Colonels women’s basketball team falls to Central Arkansas 61-54 upon their return to Stopher Gym for Southland Conference action.Despite a career-high 30 points from junior guard Ricshanda Bickham and 10 points from freshman Alisha Allen, the Colonels dropped their fourth straight SLC game. The Colonels took a 23-22 lead into the locker room at halftime but were unable to pull out the victory.

The closely-contested game saw 13 different lead changes and eight ties between the Colonels and the Sugar Bears. An eight-point advantage by the Sugar Bears in the final three minutes sealed the victory for Central Arkansas.

“We did a lot of things right tonight. The passion and effort was there, but we were unable to capitalize on the little things in the game that ultimately lead to the loss,” head coach DoBee Plaisance said.

The Colonels traveled to Northwestern State Saturday for their second SLC road game.

Alisha Allen had a team-high 25 points, and Ricshanda Bickham added 23. Despite having two players with more than 20 points, the Colonels lost 69-63 to the Lady Demons.

The Colonels came out after halftime on a 19-9 run that gave them the lead 44-42 with 11:39 left in the contest. Northwestern responded and built a 10-point lead with 2:22 left.

The Colonels held the Lady Demons to just free throws the rest of the game but were unable to gain enough momentum to catch up.

Despite a 0-5 conference record, there have been some bright spots for the Colonels. Bickham and Allen are both in the top five in scoring in the conference. Bickham ranks second with about 17 points per game. Allen is fourth with just over 15 points per contest. Bickham also lead the SLC with just under four steals per game and just over 38 minutes played per game.

The Colonels play at Southeastern Louisiana Saturday and return to Stopher Gym Wednesday to take on Stephen F. Austin.