CONWAY — After playing three of their first four conference games away from home, Central Arkansas will get a break from the road as the Sugar Bears play their next three games inside the Farris Center.

But they won't be getting much of a break on the court.

A swing that also includes defending league champion and current standings leader McNeese State along with divisional foe Southeastern Louisiana, the Sugar Bears must first face a stiff test Saturday at 2 p.m. in the form of the Lamar Lady Cardinals – the league's winningest program over the last three years.

"It'll be nice to be at home and we need to be at home," said UCA head coach Matt Daniel, whose team will be trying to move to 10-0 at home this season. The Sugar Bears have won 35 of their last 41 inside the Farris Center, an .854 winning percentage. "We need the environment of home to help bring us energy, because we're tired. You can see it in our kids. We'll need a really good environment in here to jump start us and get us going, and hopefully we'll have enough legs to be fine. The environment has been incredible at times this season, and we certainly need another one Saturday afternoon at 2."

Since the start of the 2009-10 season, Lamar has posted a league-best 60 wins, with 20 or more wins in each of the last two years. The Sugar Bears are second with 55.

One of those 55 came earlier this season in Beaumont as the Sugar Bears (13-4, 3-1 Southland) defeated the Lady Cards (9-8, 1-2) 62-37 for their first-ever win at the Montagne Center.

Last season Lamar won 60-56 in the Farris Center to complete the regular-season sweep, having won 77-67 at home earlier in the year. Saturday the Sugar Bears will look to return the favor after winning the first meeting and holding the Lady Cards to what tied their lowest-ever point total in a Southland game.

Repeating that feat doesn't seem likely, with the road-weary Sugar Bears coming off a taxing come-from-behind victory at Nicholls while Lamar was off.

"Beating them before means absolutely nothing," Daniel said. "We're familiar with them, but they're familiar with us as well and they're going to come in here hungry for sure. And they're going to come in rested, having had the week off. We've had three of four on the road, and the way they've come has been tough on our bodies. We're pretty banged up and fatigued, which leads to illness. We're going to have to come out with a lot of fight to have a chance to be in the game and hopefully put together enough fight and energy to give us a chance late to win it."

The game will serve as the opening bout of a doubleheader with the mens teams, with the Bears and Cardinals to follow a half hour after the women's game. The Bears will be shooting for their third straight win after posting back-to-back wins over Northwestern State and Nicholls.

"You would think, given it being a doubleheader and the success that we've had and the guys have had lately, that we'll have an environment to be reckoned with. But we can't rely just on that. We've got to rely on ourselves to come out and play the way we need to to defeat a talented team. Hopefully within this program we've got enough to get it done."

Lamar is led by 6-foot-2 junior guard Kalis Loyd, who is averaging 14.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game. Loyd had 28 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the Lady Cards' 68-52 win at UT Arlington in their last game. She was held to eight points on 4-for-12 shooting in the first meeting this season with the Sugar Bears. Monqiue Whittaker, a Nebraska transfer who is the team's second-leading scorer at 10.9 points per game, had 10 points against UCA in the first meeting and is coming off an 18-point performance at UT Arlington.

Junior forward Megan Herbert continues to lead the Sugar Bears in both scoring (14.9) and rebounding, posting a league-best 10.4 per game. In conference play she is averaging 12 points and 11.8 rebounds, and has been perfect in 15 free throw attempts. Junior guard Micah Rice, who had 16 second-half points against Nicholls, is averaging 11.5 points per game in Southland play and has moved into seventh place in UCA history in 3-point field goals made with 114. Senior guard Nakeia Guiden is averaging 11.3 points in conference games, and is 14-for-16 (87.5 percent) from the free throw line. As a team, the Sugar Bears are 80.8 percent.


Notes:
– Lamar leads the series 6-4, with the Sugar Bears winning the last two and three of the last five.

– UCA is 2-2 against Lamar in the Farris Center. The first win was UCA's first ever in Southland play, a 74-71 overtime win in 2007. The other win came in 2010 when the Sugar Bears won 92-77, the highest point total they've had in the series.

– With a win, UCA coach Matt Daniel would become the second winningest coach in program history. He is currently tied with Checola Seals at 61.

– A win would pull the Sugar Bears to .500 at 83-83 since moving to Division I in the 2006-07 season. The Sugar Bears went 14-14 in their first year, then struggled to a 13-45 mark over the next two. Since then, they have gone 55-24.

– Megan Herbert leads all active players in career double-doubles with 55. The next closes is Sacred Heart senior Callan Taylor, who has 47.

– Micah Rice, who is tied for the league lead with 10 3-pointers made through four conference games, is 7th on the UCA career 3-point list with 114. Teammate Westin Taylor is 6th with 134, and needs just three to move past Amy Wiedower for 5th, and six to pass Kristin Frase for 4th.

– Destinee Rogers is averaging 4.8 assists per game during conference play, and has a league-best assist/turnover ratio of 3.8-to-1.