CONWAY — Eight months ago, Central Arkansas drew a school-record women's basketball crowd of 2,953 against UAB in the Women's Basketball Invitational in what proved to be the Sugar Bears' season finale.
The new season begins Friday night for UCA, and head coach Matt Daniel would like to see a new record crowd on hand to witness it when the Sugar Bears host the Indiana University Hoosiers at 7 p.m. in the Farris Center.
"Tipoff's Friday at 7 – that's pretty much all I have to say," said Daniel, who will begin his fourth season at UCA. "I'd prefer instead of everybody reading about it, they just come out and watch it because it's going to take all of us. Every bit of us. It's going to take a gym that's packed to the hilt and an effort that's relentless and a mentality that's equally relentless. We had a great environment against UAB to end last season, and this is a tremendous opportunity to keep that momentum going."
The Hoosiers, the Sugar Bears' first-ever opponent out of the Big Ten, present UCA with a big challenge – literally – with nine players listed at 6-foot or taller and an average height of 6-1 for the 14-player roster.
"It'll certainly be a true test for us," Daniel said. "They're a good program, they play a unique style of defense and they're really long all over the floor. [IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack] has had success there, and they're going to be a little different than they were last year. They brought in some talented players, with the top junior college player in America among them. They've got talent and their height presents some challenges for us, but what a great opportunity and great environment for this university and community, and hopefully it's something everybody will come out and try to enjoy."
After losing their top three scorers off last year's team, the Hoosiers signed the No. 23 recruiting class in the country per the All-Star Girls Report. They will likely turn to 5-11 junior guard Jasmine McGhee, the aforementioned top-ranked JUCO prospect. McGhee led Vincennes University to a 28-4 record and was named the Women's Basketball Coaches Association National Junior College Player of the Year last season after averaging 16.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 52.6 percent from the field. The Hoosiers also brought in 6-3 junior forward Linda Rubene, who was ranked as the No. 14 junior college prospect.
The Sugar Bears return 10 players, including all five starters, and 90 percent of their scoring from last year's 21-win team. They will be seeking their fourth straight home-opening victory under Daniel.
"We're looking forward to starting a new season and tipping it off with a very worthy opponent," Daniel said. "You can see our kids are eager to see somebody else, and that's what they worked all summer for. I don't think we're going to accomplish everything we want to in one game – win, lose, or draw – but we're certainly ready to get after it."
