CONWAY — Nakeia Guiden had a season-high 21 points and hit 1,000 for her career as Central Arkansas handily defeated Nicholls 67-47 inside the Farris Center on Wednesday to extend their winning streak to 11 games and run their home record to 15-0.
"We played hungry," said UCA head coach Matt Daniel, whose team needs just one more win to clinch at least a share of the Southland Conference championship and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. "I thought the team with the most energy would be the team to come out on top tonight, and that proved to be true."
The Sugar Bears (22-4, 12-1 Southland) jumped on the Colonels (13-13, 6-7) early, building an 18-2 lead in the first seven minutes, and never relented as they built a lead as large as 25 in the second half and cruised to their eighth win by 20 or more points this season.
The win gets UCA past the 21-win mark for the first time as a Division I member and puts them 40 games over .500 over the last three seasons at 64-24 – a .727 winning percentage, best in the Southland during that time.
"It's the first time these kids have won more than 21 in a season, and it's quite an accomplishment," Daniel said. "What a great environment in this building tonight. It's just a lot of fun."
Guiden nearly kept pace with the Lady Colonels in the first half, scoring 15 to their 18 as the Sugar Bears took a 20-point lead at intermission. With 16:49 left, she sank the second of two free throws for her 1,000th career point to become the 21st Sugar Bear in history to reach that milestone.
"She's phenomenal," Daniel said. "She's a great kid, like all of them are. She's been through the rigors of that first season we had together (when the Sugar Bears were 6-23), and she's very deserving of this achievement. It's funny – we're breaking a lot of records individually and as a team, and we never talk about breaking records. I'm a believer and it's a true example of team success bringing individual success and accolades."
Junior forward Megan Herbert led all players with 22 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 10 of 13 (77 percent) from the field. Guiden led the Sugar Bears with four assists and two blocks to move past Carone Harris for 9th in UCA history. Westin Taylor hit a pair of 3-pointers for UCA to pass Amy Wiedower for 5th most in Sugar Bear history.
The Sugar Bears will hit the road for their next two games before wrapping up the regular season at home on March 3 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
"If we can figure out how to win one more out of the next three, just one more..." Daniel said. "I hope they let everybody in Conway cut a net in here next Saturday."
