CONWAY — Central Arkansas will put its undefeated home record and the Southland's longest winning streak on the line Wednesday night when the Sugar Bears welcome the league's most potent offense to the Farris Center in the form of the Texas State Bobcats.
When the Sugar Bears (18-4, 8-1 Southland) and the Bobcats (13-8, 5-3) tip off Wednesday at 7 p.m., it will be a pairing of the league's stingiest defense and most prolific offense as UCA gives up just 51.8 points per game and Texas State scores 70.2.
The Sugar Bears, who climb to their highest rank of No. 13 in this week's Mid-Major Top 25, come into the game atop the Southland standings while the Bobcats are tied with Stephen F. Austin half a game behind Sam Houston State for the West Division lead.
The Bobcats dropped their last game 83-74 to Nicholls, but defeated SFA 95-87 in the game before to wrap up a three-game winning streak. SFA has defeated both UCA and McNeese State, the Southland's top two teams, this season.
The game will serve as a meeting of the league's top scorers in UCA's Megan Herbert and Texas State junior guard Diamond Ford. Ford is the Southland's top scorer at 19.1 points per game, including 20.9 in conference play, while Herbert is second at 16.7 overall with a league average of 18 points per contest. Texas State's Ashley Ezeh is 6th in scoring average in conference games at 16.9.
Ford also leads the league in free throw percentage at 85.8 percent for the season, including an 88.3 percent mark in league play. She made 16 of 18 in the SFA game, a game in which the Bobcats were 45 of 60 from the line. Herbert, who has a league-high 104 free throws made, is shooting 81.9 percent – good for third.
Both Ford and Herbert have been performing above their season averages of late. Herbert has won the last two Southland Player of the Week awards and is averaging 25.8 points and 12.8 rebounds while shooting 60.3 percent from the field in her last four games. Over that same span, Ford has averaged 26.5 points and 3.5 assists per game and has made 14-for-33 (42.4 percent) from 3-point range.
The Sugar Bears have taken the last two meetings with Texas State and will attempt to tie the series at three games apiece as the Bobcats make their final tour through the Southland before departing for the Western Athletic Conference. Last season UCA won 74-60 in San Marcos, with Herbert putting up 28 points and 14 rebounds and Nakeia Guiden adding 11 and 10. Ford led Texas State with 23.
The last time the teams met in Conway, in 2010, Desiree' Rogers (then a freshman) came off the bench for a career-high 28 points. Guiden added 22 and Herbert had 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Sugar Bears won 79-67.
The Sugar Bears have four home games remaining this season, with their PinkZone game on Feb. 18 vs. West Division leader Sam Houston State; Nicholls on Feb. 22 and A&M-Corpus Christi in the final game of the regular season on March 3. Following Wednesday night's game vs. Texas State, UCA heads to Lake Charles, La. for a rematch with second-place McNeese State.
