CONWAY — The Central Arkansas women's basketball team will be seeking its third straight win when the Sugar Bears face Jacksonville State at noon on Saturday in the Farris Center.
There will be no admission charge for Saturday's Sugar Bears game, which was originally scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. tip but has been moved up to 12 to accommodate UCA fans planning on also attending the Bears' game at UALR at 3:00 p.m.
Coming off wins against Jackson State and Lyon College, the Sugar Bears (2-2) look to defeat Jacksonville State (3-1) for the second straight season, having beaten the Gamecocks 58-54 last season in Jacksonville.
JSU, which has beaten Alabama, New Orleans and Wofford after a season-opening loss at Texas Tech, is led by 5-foot-8 senior guard Candace Morton (13.8 points per game) and 5-9 junior guard Destany McLin (11.3). Miranda Cantrell, a 6-foot senior center, averages 7.0 points and 7.0 rebounds for JSU.
Sophomore guard Maggie Proffitt leads the Sugar Bears' offensive attack at 16.5 points per game on the strength of a 48.1 3-point percentage (13 of 27). Junior Kendara Watts, coming off a 21-point performance in Tuesday's win over Lyon, averages 10.5 while sophomore Brianna Mullins averages 10.5 Mullins is also the team leader in rebounds (6.0 per game) and assists (2.8).
In the Gamecocks' 64-62 win at Alabama, JSU was 9 of 22 (40.9 percent) from 3-point range and forced the Tide into 18 turnovers while committing just 11 of their own. Morton had 13 points and 5 rebounds while McLin had 14 and 3. Courtney Strain also added 14 on 5-of-8 shooting.
After being outrebounded by 22 in the season opener at Western Kentucky, the Sugar Bears have bounced back to gain a +32 advantage on the boards in their last three games, and are 25 of 26 (96.2 percent) from the free throw line in their last two games. Jacksonville State has been outrebounded by just over two per game this season, and is shooting 62 percent from the free throw line. The Gamecocks force 18.3 turnovers per game, while the Sugar Bears have forced an average of 19.0.
In last season's meeting, the teams were nearly identical with each team hitting a pair of 3-pointers and six free throws, UCA committing 11 turnovers and JSU 12. The Sugar Bears had 11 offensive rebounds to 7 for JSU, and were able to make two more field goals – shooting 25 of 57 (43.9 percent) to JSU's 23 of 55 (41.8). Mullins had 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in that win.
Following Saturday's game, the Sugar Bears will take on Alcorn State on Tuesday on the road, then return to the Farris Center for the next two games – Central Baptist on Dec. 4, and Southeast Missouri State on Dec. 6.
