KATY, Texas — In Tuesday's opening round of the 2011 State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament, the day held true to form as the top four seeds all advanced to the semifinals.
On Thursday, Central Arkansas is hoping to buck that trend.
The 3rd-seeded Sugar Bears will face off against the No. 2 Lamar Lady Cardinals at 12:05 p.m. for a chance to play for a Southland Conference championship and an opportunity to earn an NCAA Tournament spot.
The game can be seen on Conway Corp. channel 98 or online at
Southland.org or on ESPN3.com. The game can be heard on KUCA 91.3 FM or online at
ucagameday.com.
"To have a shot to have a shot is quite a big accomplishment and a tremendous opportunity," said Central Arkansas head coach Matt Daniel. "We need to try to take full advantage of it. We open up the semifinal session against a tough opponent in Lamar, and hopefully we have a good showing for not only this team and our program but for the community, university and state."
The meeting will feature the league's two winningest teams over the past two seasons, with Lamar (25-6 this season) having 51 wins and the Sugar Bears (20-10) having 41. They are the only two Southland teams with 20-plus wins in each of the last two years.
It will also feature the league's last two players of the year in Sugar Bears sophomore forward Megan Herbert, this year's winner, and Lamar senior guard Jenna Plumley who won the award last year.
"It's really a marquee matchup," Daniel said. "Both programs have had a lot of success the last couple seasons and have built something pretty good. We certainly know how dangerous Lamar has been the last two years, facing them under this regime with their personnel. It's going to be tough, but I anticipate a good game on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes."
The teams, which finished second and third behind league champion McNeese State in the East Division, have met twice already this season. Lamar swept the season series – winning 77-67 in Beaumont, Texas in the first conference game of the season, and later came back from 15 down to win 60-56 in Conway.
"Meeting for the third time, you're more familiar with what the other team's doing," Daniel said. "There might be a couple wrinkles on either side, but in a tournament format like this you don't have a whole lot of time to do that. Both teams have gotten to this point by things not being too broken, so if it's not broke there's no need in fixing it."
That the Lady Cards have already defeated the Sugar Bears twice means little heading into Thursday's game.
"I don't think it has any effect one way or the other," Daniel said. "There's a lot at stake as it is. We have plenty of motivation regardless of those outcomes. And while we respect them, there's no fear factor going in. We've just got to come out and play. Hopefully we'll be in the game and have a shot to win it at the end."
