BEAUMONT, Texas — The last time the Central Arkansas women's basketball team walked off the floor following a game against a Southland Conference opponent, it was after a 21-point whipping at the hands of McNeese State in the conference tournament championship game in Katy, Texas.

The image of the Cowgirls' title remains vivid to the Sugar Bears. The celebration that wasn't theirs – they see it nearly every day. They have little choice, because it hangs in each of their lockers, enlarged and framed.

Now, after a wait of nearly 10 months, the Sugar Bears begin their quest for the title that eluded them as they tip off the Southland Conference portion of their schedule at Lamar on Saturday at 1 p.m.

But before they can think of celebrating in Katy, the Sugar Bears must first get there.

"We talk about playing for championships, and that's our goal," said UCA head coach Matt Daniel. "But ultimately, to have a shot at the NCAA tournament, we've got to get into the conference tournament first. That's got to happen before you can even think of playing for a championship. I don't know how many wins it's going to take, but we have to figure out how to be one of the top eight teams in this league.

"As we're very familiar with now, in just one short season, you get to the tournament and it's a three-game roll of the dice that starts early in the week and – if you're fortunate – ends late in the week. We want to be there late in the week, but mostly we just want to be there. To do that, we need to try to steal one on the road this week as we begin conference play."

There are no guarantees when it comes to the league standings, and previous years' accomplishments mean nothing when the new season rolls around. The Sugar Bears have seen that first-hand, going from 2-14 in the league in 2009 to 11-5 (and what would've been the No. 4 seed in the tournament had they been eligible) in 2010. McNeese State went from 3-13 in 2010 to 15-1 last season. Conversely, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi followed up its 12-4 campaign in 2010 with an 0-16 league mark in 2011.

"It flips so much from year to year," Daniel said. "There's no free pass – you have to go out and earn it every time. And that's my concern – taking things for granted. The success we had last year, that we've had so far this year, entitles us to nothing. So take nothing for granted. I know we won't do that, and I hope nobody does. Hopefully everybody remains hungry. Our following and the environment we've had at home is just as important as our personnel. That's a big reason we're 8-0 at home this year and 34 of 40 over the last few. We have to continue to build on that, and that leads into trying to get into the conference tournament."

The Sugar Bears' first step toward that goal comes against one of the conference's toughest programs in Lamar, pitting the league's two winningest teams since the start of the 2009-10 season against one another. In the past two-plus seasons, Lamar leads the league with 59 wins and the Sugar Bears are second with 52.

None of those 52 wins have come in the Montagne Center, however. Beaumont is one of three remaining places in the conference, along with Nacogdoches and San Antonio, that the Sugar Bears have yet to record a win. As luck would have it, UCA's second conference game is at Stephen F. Austin.

"It's a challenging task for us right out of the gate," Daniel said. "If we're going to be in that top eight, it's vital to protect the home floor but it's also very important that we steal one on the road somewhere. We get two chances starting off, they just so happen to be at places where we've never won."

That first chance pits the Sugar Bears against a Lamar team that enters league play 8-6 with losses to Texas A&M, Kansas, IUPUI, UTEP, TCU and LSU. In addition to wins over Ole Miss, ULM and Florida Atlantic, the Lady Cards come into Saturday's game riding a three-game winning streak. Since losing 77-35 at LSU, Lamar has defeated future Southland member Houston Baptist 73-40, Centenary 73-44, and Rice 61-54.

The Sugar Bears enter at 10-3, ranked No. 18 in this week's Mid-Major Poll – their highest ranking to date – and have the Southland's best RPI at 75. Lamar is third at 138.

"For us to be No. 18 in the mid-major poll is nice," Daniel said. "I think it's a great accomplishment that says a lot for where we've come in just a couple of years. We've been in the poll consistently this year, and I wish I could say we're going to be a mainstay there forever – but I'm not into that kind of fortune-telling and foreshadowing. I'm happy to be there and hope we stay there, but ultimately it goes back to figuring out what we have to do to get into the conference tournament. And right now that's focusing on Lamar."

Saturday's matchup features two of the league's top three scorers in juniors Megan Herbert and Kalis Loyd. Herbert ranks second at 15.8 points per game with Loyd close behind at 15.5. Lamar's Monique Whittaker (10.7 ppg) and UCA's Courtney Duever (9.8) are also among the league's top 20 scorers.

Herbert (52.2 percent - 3rd in the league) and Loyd (48.1, 6th) each lead their respective teams in field goal percentage and rebounds, with Herbert posting a league-best 10 boards per game and Loyd 15th at 6.4. Loyd also leads the Lady Cards in assists (3.2) and steals (2.2).

The Sugar Bears begin league play with the Southland's best scoring defense (50.5 points per game), second-highest scoring offense (69.8) and top scoring margin (19.3).  The Sugar Bears also rank No. 1 in the league in field goal and 3-point percentage defense, rebounding margin, rebounding defense, assists and assist/turnover ratio.

Lamar took both regular-season meetings between the teams last season before the Sugar Bears scored a 68-60 win in overtime in the semifinals of the Southland tournament. Gone from that Lady Cards team are former league Player of the Year Jenna Plumley and center Trashanna Smith, who combined to average 21.7 points and 12.3 rebounds against the Sugar Bears a season ago.

In addition to Loyd, the Lady Cards return Monique Whittaker and Jasmin Henderson who combined for 38 points in last year's Southland opener with Whittaker scoring 21 and Henderson coming off the bench to hit 5-of-6 from 3-point range en route to 17 points.

In the last meeting, in Katy, Micah Rice led UCA with 18 points with Nakeia Guiden adding 15 and Destinee Rogers 13. Desiree' Rogers had seven points to go with a game-high 14 rebounds. The Sugar Bears won that game despite just three points and four rebounds from Herbert.

Saturday's game will be the opener in a double-header at the Montagne Center, with the UCA and Lamar men to follow at 3:30.