SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT NOTES
UCA radio broadcast (begins 1:10pm)
UCA Game Notes
No. 6 Central Arkansas vs. No. 7 Stephen F. Austin
2013 Southland Conference Tournament
Merrell Center – Katy, Texas
Wednesday, March 13
1:30 p.m.
KATY, Texas — Beginning last summer the Central Arkansas women's basketball team set its eyes on March with one thought in mind – unfinished business.
After losing in the Southland Conference championship game two seasons ago to McNeese State, and getting upset by Nicholls in the opening round of last year's tournament as the league's champion and top seed, the Sugar Bears and their large, accomplished senior class have long been awaiting their chance for redemption in Katy. The one thing this year's class has yet to achieve is a Southland tournament title and trip to the NCAA tournament.
On Wednesday, they begin their final quest to finish their business.
The Sugar Bears, who enter as the tournament's No. 6 seed after finishing the regular season with a 15-14 overall record and 8-10 conference mark, face a long road as they must win four games in four days to complete their mission.
But to play four, they must first win one. That will be no easy task, as the Sugar Bears open at 1:30 Wednesday afternoon with No. 7 Stephen F. Austin (13-16, 8-10), a team they split with during the regular season.
In the season's first meeting, the Sugar Bears ran out to a 17-point halftime lead but fell behind in the second half and had to come back to escape with a 57-54 win in Conway. In Nacogdoches, the Sugar Bears held a slim 22-21 lead at the break, but SFA rallied in the second half for a 53-45 victory.
In the two games this year, the teams were nearly even statistically. The Sugar Bears shot 33.6 percent and the Ladyjacks 32.7, UCA held a slim 42-39 average rebounding advantage, and the Sugar Bears committed 13 turnovers per game to 11.5 for SFA. The teams were separated by a total of five points in the two games, also the difference in points at the free throw line as SFA has outscored the Sugar Bears 26-21 at the line. The Sugar Bears are 9 of 27 from 3-point range, while SFA is 9 of 28.
Individually against the Ladyjacks the Sugar Bears have been led by three-time Southland Conference Player of the Year Megan Herbert and All-Southland third-team selection Courtney Duever. Herbert has averaged 18.5 points and 8 rebounds per game while Duever has averaged 12.5 and 8.5. Tracey Parsons has averaged eight points, six rebounds and five assists against SFA this season.
SFA's second-team all-conference sophomore center Porsha Roberts had averaged 13 points and 6.5 rebounds in two games against the Sugar Bears, with Daylyn Harris averaging 11 points and Annette Davis 9.5 points and 6.5 rebounds.
The game marks the second time the two teams have met in Katy, with the Sugar Bears defeating the Ladyjacks 64-58 two seasons ago in UCA's first-ever appearance in the Southland tournament. Desiree' Rogers had 24 points and 15 rebounds in that win en route to earning all-tournament honors. That win advanced the Sugar Bears to the next round, where they faced (and defeated) Lamar. The winner of Wednesday's game will again be paired up with the Lady Cardinals, who received a first-round bye by virtue of their third-place finish during the regular season.
The tournament runs through Saturday, when the finals for both the men's and women's tournament will be played. The tournaments are in their first year under the new format in which the top two seeds receive byes to the semifinals and the third and fourth seeds automatically advance to the quarterfinals.
