KATY, Texas — On Monday, Central Arkansas sophomore forward Megan Herbert was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year.

On Tuesday, Desiree' Rogers was the MVP.

Rogers shot 80 percent from the field en route to a season-high 24 points and had a career-high 15 rebounds to lead the Sugar Bears to a 64-58 win over Stephen F. Austin on the opening day of the 2011 State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament for their first Division I postseason victory.

The win moves the Sugar Bears to 20-10 for the season, marking their second consecutive 20-win season. The Ladyjacks finish the year 12-18.

"We came out overly excited and I think it showed in the first four minutes today with as giving as we were, giving the ball away to the other team," Daniel said. "I had to make a decision whether I was going to be hard on them and tell them to calm down, or just let them enjoy it as much as possible. I wanted them to be excited and didn't want to take away from that. I think it worked itself out. It wasn't ideal by any stretch of the imagination during the process, but the end result was satisfying."

Rogers came up big on a day in which Herbert was largely held in check - relatively. Herbert finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds, but had zero points on 0-for-3 shooting and just four rebounds at the half.

"When Megan's scoring her 20 points like she usually does, somebody has to step up," Rogers said. "None of us wanted to go home, and I wanted to step up and get those points and rebounds that I could so we wouldn't have to go home and can keep playing for this championship."

Herbert came to life in a second half in which the Sugar Bears outscored the Ladyjacks 38-29 to erase their three-point halftime deficit, getting all 13 of her points and nine rebounds in the last 20 minutes.

"I don't know that we really did anything to get her loose," Daniel said. "She finished with 13 and 13, but that's not Megan Herbert getting loose at all – which is fortunate for Central Arkansas. She played a lot of minutes and had a double-double but we don't feel like she played great. We had some other people step up and that's the versatility we like."

The scoreless half was the first time this season and only second time in her career that she has been held without a point in a half.

"Every time I got the ball in the post or on the perimeter they sank into the lane and it was all eyes on me," she said. "That limited my shots, but Rae (Rogers) has my back and she went out there and got the points and rebounds for me and we pulled out a win."

It went down to the final minute as the Sugar Bears could not pull away from the Ladyjacks, leading by as many as seven but seeing SFA stay within one or two possessions nearly the entire away.

Clinging to a 61-58 lead in the final minute, the Sugar Bears had possession with under 30 seconds to go but Goodner blocked Rice's shot attempt and the Ladyjacks took control - but briefly. Nearly immediately after SFA had gained possession, Tammara Marion was called for a charge in the backcourt to turn the ball back over to UCA.

After a foul on Courtney Conwright, Nakeia Guiden hit one free throw to give the Sugar Bears a two-possession lead with 19 seconds left. Marion misfired on the other end, Guiden got the rebound and was fouled again. She hit both to give the Sugar Bears a six-point lead with seven seconds left to seal the deal for UCA.

The Sugar Bears got off to a slow start, committing five turnovers in the first 2:04. Trailing 15-6 midway through the first half, the Sugar Bears started tearing away at what would prove to be their biggest deficit of the game. Freshman center Courtney Duever knocked down a 3-pointer to start an 11-2 run that pulled UCA into a 17-all tie with 8:08 left in the half.

SFA built the lead back to seven, but the Sugar Bears chipped away and trailed just three at the break. They took their first lead 4:30 into the second half on a layup and free throw from sophomore guard Micah Rice, who finished with 11 points.

The Sugar Bears extended their lead to seven on back-to-back 3-pointers from Rogers and Rice with 11 minutes left, but SFA responded with eight of the game's next nine points to pull back into a tie at 50 with 9:04 left.

UCA went ahead by four a few moments later after two free throws from Rice and then two from Britney Gowans on an intentional foul, called after SFA's Jordan Ford raked Gowans' face from behind on a fastbreak layup attempt.

The Ladyjacks would not go away, keeping the game close and trailing by only three with 1:37 left after a jumper from Decreasha Goodner, but could not pull any closer.

The Sugar Bears will face Lamar in the first semifinal on Thursday at 12:05 p.m. Lamar won both meetings between the teams this season, winning 77-67 in Beaumont and 60-56 in Conway.