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Central Arkansas game notes
Southeastern Louisiana game notes
HAMMOND, La. — After defeating Nicholls 72-56 on Thursday, Central Arkansas will be shooting for a sweep in its conference-opening road swing as the Sugar Bears take on Southeastern Louisiana at 2 p.m. Saturday in the University Center.
Winning in Hammond has proven tough, however, for the Sugar Bears (8-4, 1-0 Southland) who are 2-5 all-time at the University Center and have lost three of the last four – including a 58-53 loss last season.
In order to reverse their fortunes at Southeastern, the Sugar Bears will have to overcome a Lady Lions (7-5, 0-1) squad that is 3-1 on its home floor this season with the lone loss coming Thursday night at the hands of Oral Roberts, an 81-62 setback.
Southeastern is one of the nation's most inexperienced teams, returning just two starters and five lettermen from last season with a grand total of eight years of Division I experience on the roster.
The Lady Lions are led by forward Aja Gibson and Brandi Simmons, who combine for 21.8 points and 14.8 rebounds per game. Gibson, a 6-foot-1 junior, is Southeastern's leading scorer at 11.5 per game while pulling down 5.0 rebounds per contest. Simmons, a 5-11 senior, nearly averages a double-double with 10.3 points and a team-high 9.8 rebounds. Four other Lady Lions average more than eight points per game, including starting guards Elizabeth Styles (8.8), Jameika Hoskins (8.7) and Symone Miller (8.1), along with freshman reserve forward Nanna Pool (8.8).
In last year's meeting in Hammond, the Lady Lions outscored the Sugar Bears by six in the second half to deal Central Arkansas its second and final regular-season league loss. In that game, Gibson led all scorers with 19 points on 8 of 11 shooting. Megan Herbert had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Sugar Bears.
The game can be heard on 91.3 FM The Bear,
Y107 FM, and online at
ucagameday.com. Pre-game show begins at 1:45. The game will be followed by the Central Arkansas-Southeastern Louisiana men's game.
