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CONWAY — After a two-week break from competition, Central Arkansas returns to play on Monday as the Sugar Bears host Southern Miss at 5 p.m. in the Farris Center.
Following a 39-37 loss to Southern Illinois on Dec. 2, the Sugar Bears (5-3) will look to get back in the win column in the second game of a six-game home stand as welcome to the Farris Center a Golden Eagle team that is 6-2 overall but is looking for its first road win with an 0-2 record away from Hattiesburg. In their most recent game, the Golden Eagles lost 71-61 at Mississippi State on Saturday.
The Golden Eagles boast a highly effective offense, averaging 79.1 points per game while shooting 45 percent from the field and 31 percent from 3-point range as a team. They rank 26th nationally in scoring, 29th in scoring margin and 36th in field goal percentage. They are among the top 25 teams nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio and turnover margin, and are ranked ninth in assists per game with 19.9 led by national leader Jamierra Faulkner at 9.6 per game.
Faulkner, a 5-foot-6 senior guard who also averages 13.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, is among the national Top 25 in steals per game at 3.0.
Faulkner is one of four Golden Eagles averaging double figures in scoring, led by 5-11 junior forward Tamara Jones at 20 points per game to go along with a team-best 7.9 rebounds per game. Jones had 41 points and 12 rebounds in a 72-60 win over UALR in Novemeber, and had 27 points at Mississippi State on Saturday. Brittanny Dinkins averages 11.6 points and Jerontay Clemons 10.6.
For the Sugar Bears, senior Courtney Duever – the team's leading scorer at 11.9 per game – needs only six points to reach 1,000 for her career. Senior guard Micah Rice is 17th in the nation with a 3.13 steals per game average. As a team, the Sugar Bears rank 24th in scoring defense, surrendering just 56 points per game.
The teams met last year in Hattiesburg, with Southern Miss winning 53-44 in a game in which Rice went down with what proved to be a season-ending knee injury. Faulkner had 13 points in that game for the Golden Eagles, while Duever had 13 points and 7 rebounds for the Sugar Bears.
Monday's game will be the first of two home games before the Christmas break for the Sugar Bears, who will also host in-state rival Arkansas State on Saturday, Dec. 21 in the Farris Center.
