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CONWAY, Ark. — When Central Arkansas travels to Stillwater for Friday night's WNIT first round clash with Oklahoma State, the game will bear great resemblance to an NCAA tournament matchup.
Each team enters with résumés befitting NCAA tournament teams, giving the Sugar Bears a challenging draw in the opening round of their second straight postseason tournament.
The Sugar Bears (26-4) are the reigning Southland Conference champions, are 3-1 against NCAA tournament teams this season and have a higher RPI ranking than eight teams in NCAA tourney field. The Cowgirls (16-12), making a school-record sixth straight postseason appearance, defeated five NCAA tournament teams and barely missed the cut themselves as they were one of the last four teams out of the NCAA Tournament selection.
It closely resembles the draw received by Southland Conference men's champion UT Arlington, which also missed out on the NCAAs after it lost in the conference tournament following a 23-7, 15-1 regular season. The Mavericks were rewarded with a first-round meeting with Pac-12 champion Washington – the first major conference regular season champion ever to be passed over by the NCAA tournament – which they lost 82-72.
"I think you can see by the draws of the conference champion on both the men's and women's side how difficult the postseason is and how tough it is to even get a postseason berth out of the Southland Conference," said UCA head coach Matt Daniel. "You look at the matchups and they are essentially NCAA tournament games happening in the NIT or WNIT. Being in a tournament of this caliber, particularly coming where we come from, is a true testament to what we've accomplished this year. I'm happy to be a part of it and I'm excited about the opportunity ahead of us, difficult as it may be."
UCA draws a Cowgirl team that finished 8-10 in the Big 12 with wins over five of the league's seven NCAA tournament teams. OSU also defeated Texas Tech, a team that handled the Sugar Bears 76-43 in Lubbock in November.
In other games against common opponents, the Cowgirls defeated Indiana 83-72 and UAPB 98-35. The Sugar Bears defeated those teams 58-46 and 61-38.
The Cowgirls played the season after battling through major turmoil in late November when head coach Kurt Budke and assistant coach Miranda Serna were killed in a plane crash near Perryville, less than an hour from the UCA campus. The program was turned over to then-associate head coach Jim Littell, and after canceling two games in the immediate wake, the Cowgirls bounced back with seven straight victories.
"Oklahoma State played with a very heavy heart this year," Daniel said. "That they were able to accomplish what they did this season under those circumstances is nothing short of incredible. Looking at the way everything played out, short of the tragedy they would be an NCAA tournament team.
"I've known Coach Littell for quite some time, and he does a great job," Daniel said. "I know they'll be eager to play. It's a tough draw but a great experience for us to play in that type of setting. The commitment to athletics of all kinds at OSU is second to no one. They haven't raised the bar – they've completely erased it. They've set the standard for facilities and equipment and all of those things. Any time you can spend millions and millions and millions on a renovation – not just building a new arena – shows their commitment level and their appreciation of their history."
If the opponent didn't present a daunting enough task in itself, the Sugar Bears' situation is compounded by the loss of junior forward Desiree' Rogers, who suffered a torn ACL in UCA's loss to Nicholls State in the Southland Conference tournament.
Rogers, who started all but one of UCA's 30 games this season, was the team's fifth-leading scorer, second-leading rebounder and was two steals shy of the team lead.
"Desiree' being out with her injury is a big blow to us," Daniel said. "It affects us in a lot of ways. We've had the same lineup and rotations all year long, and now we're having to work on some unique combinations. But we're not a team that's afraid to adjust and try different things to try to stay in a ballgame. Friday in Stillwater will be no different."
The Cowgirls are led by 5-foot-6 sophomore guard Tiffany Bias, a second team All-Big 12 performer who averaged 12.7 points, 6.5 assists (8th in the nation), 3.7 rebounds and 2.5 steals. 6-foot freshman Liz Donohoe, the Big 12 freshman of the year, is the team's second-leading scorer at 12.3 points per game and is the team's leading 3-point shooter having made 40 of 128 (31.3 percent) and leading rebounder at 7.1 per game.
OSU is 12-3 inside Gallagher-Iba Arena this year, losing only to Baylor, Kansas and Kansas State. The Sugar Bears will have another opportunity to score their first win against a Big 12 opponent, having lost at Texas Tech earlier this season and dropping games in previous seasons at OSU, Oklahoma and Kansas State.
One team will go on to play the winner of the Wichita State/Oral Roberts game, the other will see its season come to an end.
"No matter what happens on Friday, we have gone far beyond expectations," Daniel said. "In the first two years eligible for Division I postseason, we've made national tournaments both seasons. And sometimes we overlook that the conference tournament is not guaranteed. We've played in that championship game, won our league this year, and now get to go play in a storied postseason tournament against a great program in a great venue. To be mentioned in those conversations at Central Arkansas should speak for itself. It's a great thing to be a part of, and hopefully we get to keep it going a little longer."
