CONWAY — After earning a split in a four-game road swing and securing a berth in the Southland Conference tournament, Central Arkansas returns to the Farris Center for the first time in three weeks as the Sugar Bears prepare for their final two home games of the season.
The first test comes Saturday at 2 p.m. against Southeastern Louisiana in the Sugar Bears' annual WBCA Pink Zone game, a breast cancer awareness promotion and benefit game for the Conway Regional Cancer Center.
The Sugar Bears (16-10, 8-5 Southland) have already guaranteed a spot in the conference tournament – which will be held in Katy, Texas from March 8-12 – and will use the next three games to try to improve their league standing for seeding purposes heading into their first postseason tournament since 2006. UCA currently sits fifth behind McNeese State (12-1 in the league) and Lamar (11-2) in the East Division, and West co-leaders Sam Houston State and UTSA (which comes to Conway on Wednesday) who are both 9-4.
The Lady Lions, at 4-9 in the league, are locked in a three-way tie for the eighth and final spot in the tournament with UT Arlington and Texas State, and are battling to get in with games also remaining against McNeese State and Nicholls – which defeated Southeastern by 12 earlier in the season.
In addition to fighting for its postseason life, Southeastern has the added incentive of payback after the Sugar Bears handed the Lady Lions a 69-65 defeat in Hammond earlier this season.
UCA was able to escape the University Center with a win in that one thanks largely to the play of sophomore forward Megan Herbert, who broke a 62-all tie with a layup and free throw with 1:16 left and scored seven points in less than a minute span to secure the win. Herbert had 18 points in that game, and junior guard Nakeia Guiden led all scorers with 19.
Herbert, who averaged 22.8 points and 14.5 rebounds per game during the Sugar Bears' recent four-game road swing, is coming off a 25-point, 20-rebound outing at Nicholls and has moved up to fifth in the nation in rebounding at 11.7 per game and 41st in scoring at 17.9 per game.
Both of those averages lead the Southland, and she is in position to become the first player in league history to lead the league in both categories twice – and would do so in consecutive years. At 57.6 percent, she is 10th in the nation and poised to lead the league in field goal percentage for the second straight year – potentially becoming the fifth player in Southland history to do so.
Her 18 double-doubles this season is tied for fourth in the nation, putting her in the national top 10 in three categories. She trails Alabama's Tierney Jenkins and Morehead State's Ashar Harris – two players the Sugar Bears have faced this season – who are tied for second at 19. Virginia Commonwealth's Courtney Hurt leads the country with 22.
UCA will be gunning for its second straight winning season within the league, having gone 11-5 last year. It would be their 20th league win over the last two seasons after getting just 15 combined in their first three. With 37 wins overall since the beginning of last season, the Sugar Bears have the second most wins among Southland teams during that span – trailing only Lamar's 48. UTSA is third with 29.
Saturday's game and Wednesday's against UTSA will be the final two at home this season for the Sugar Bears, who finish their regular season at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on March 5. The team will then go to Katy for the conference tournament, with the quarterfinal games scheduled for Tuesday, March 8. Tickets for the Southland tournament, which includes both men's and women's games, can be purchased at ucasports.com or by calling the UCA ticket office at 501-852-2234.
