CONWAY, Ark. — After falling 77-67 to Lamar – last season's Southland Conference West Division champion – in the 2011 conference opener on Saturday, Central Arkansas returns to the Farris Center tonight at 7 p.m. looking for its first league victory.
The opponent? Last season's Southland Conference East Division champion, Stephen F. Austin.
Much has changed from last season, however. For starters the Ladyjacks are now in the West, having flipped with Lamar.
Secondly, SFA is under the direction of a new head coach. Brandon Schneider is in his first season after a wildly successful 12-year tenure at Division II Emporia State, where he compiled a 306-72 record and won the 2010 Division II national title.
He hasn't enjoyed much success yet at SFA as the Ladyjacks have gotten off to a rocky 4-10 start. But, Schneider's team faced as tough a non-conference schedule as any in the Southland – taking on a slate filled primarily with teams from the Big 12, Conference USA and Sun Belt.
The Ladyjacks did get on the board in their Southland opener, scoring a 66-55 win against Southeastern Louisiana, led by senior forward Jordan Ford's 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Sugar Bears (8-6, 0-1 Southland) have never beaten the Ladyjacks, coming into tonight's game with an 0-6 record all-time against SFA. If they are to break through tonight, they'll have to do so against a veteran 'Jacks team that features three juniors and two starters in the starting lineup plus five more seniors and another junior off the bench.
Leading the charge for SFA is junior guard Tammara Marion, the Southland's leading scorer at 17.4 points per game. It was Marion who delivered the dagger in the teams' last meeting, burying a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the last of her 27 points to give SFA an 88-86 win in Nacogdoches last season.
UCA's Megan Herbert finished the game with 31 points and 14 rebounds and converted a 3-point play with seven seconds to go to put the Sugar Bears ahead before Marion's seventh 3-pointer kept UCA from leaving with the victory.
Herbert, who averaged 30.5 points and 15.5 rebounds in the two games last season against the 'Jacks, comes into tonight's contest the league's fifth-leading scorer and leading rebounder at 15.4 points and 11 rebounds per game. She had 15 points and 17 rebounds in the Sugar Bears' loss at Lamar on Saturday, grabbing more offensive (9) and defensive (8) rebounds than any other player had total rebounds. She also had a game-high two blocks and three steals.
The Sugar Bears also got 18 points from Micah Rice, who knocked down four 3-pointers en route to her season high scoring effort.
UCA will be shooting for its 22nd win in its last 25 home games, having gone 21-3 inside the Farris Center since the start of last season. Last year the Sugar Bears were 15-1 at home, with the lone loss coming 97-86 at the hands of the Ladyjacks.
SFA led by as many as 26 in the second half in that game, and the Sugar Bears' late comeback bid fell short after putting up 57 second-half points.
SFA had four players in double figures that game, led by Ford's 21, and Ebony Alexander had 9 points, 7 rebounds and 12 assists. Herbert had 30 points and 17 rebounds for UCA, with Britney Gowans tying a career-high with 16 points.
