NATCHITOCHES, La. — Following Saturday's win at Nicholls, Central Arkansas sits at 16-2 overall with a 6-1 mark in Southland play, riding a six-game winning streak as they enter Wednesday night's contest at Northwestern State as one of just 15 teams in the nation with two or fewer losses. 

If the Sugar Bears are to stay among that group and extend their winning streak to seven, they'll have to do something no other team has done this season – beat the Lady Demons in Prather Coliseum.

The Sugar Bears, 6-1 on the road this season, meet up with the Lady Demons (11-8, 5-3 Southland), who are just behind the Sugar Bears in the Southland standings and sport a 9-0 mark at home this season. In their 9 games at Prather, the Lady Demons have won by an average of 18.4 points per game, including a 3-0 mark in Southland games with an average margin of victory of 16 points over Houston Baptist, Sam Houston State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Lady Demons have had just two games closer than 10 points at home this season, beating Grambling by nine and Jackson State by five in back-to-back games in December.

When the teams tip off at 6:30, not only will the Sugar Bears be looking to become the first team to knock off the Lady Demons in Prather this season, they are also hoping to snap a three-game losing skid in Natchitoches – having last won here in 2012. Last season the Sugar Bears narrowly missed leaving Prather victorious, falling when NSU's Janelle Perez made a pair of free throws with two seconds left to give the Lady Demons a 54-52 win.

Overall the Lady Demons lead the series 11-10, have won three of the last four and are 6-4 against the Sugar Bears in Prather.

The Sugar Bears won last year's meeting in Conway 63-46 behind 28 points from Maggie Proffitt, but dropped the next two in Natchitoches and a 63-49 loss at the Southland Conference Tournament in Katy to bring an end to the Sugar Bears' season.

In three games against NSU last season, Brianna Mullins averaged 12.7 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Proffitt, who made six 3s and was 9 of 18 from the field in the first meeting, was held to just four points in each of the next two games against NSU, shooting a combined 3 of 15. In seven career games against the Sugar Bears, Perez has averaged 13.3 points, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals and shot 46.2 percent from the field, 57.1 percent from 3-point range and 80.8 percent from the free throw line.

Perez, a preseason first team all-Southland selection, leads NSU at 15.7 points per game, including 19.3 per game in Southland play, third-best in the league. Her 92.6 free throw percentage ranks 2nd in the nation, and her 46.6 3-point percentage in conference games leads the Southland.

Beatrice Attura averages 13.7 points for the Lady Demons, and is shooting 35.6 percent from 3-point range and 82.6 percent at the free throw line. As a team, NSU is shooting 38.7 percent from long range in conference play, best in the league, while the Sugar Bears are 4th at 36.7 percent. The Lady Demons' 36.7 percent for the season is also tops in the Southland, while the Sugar Bears are 3rd at 34.6 percent.

Despite allowing 65 to Nicholls in Saturday's win – the highest the Sugar Bears have surrendered to a Southland team this season – Central Arkansas still leads the nation in scoring defense at 48.1 points per game allowed and rank 14th nationally in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot 34 percent for the season.

The Sugar Bears are coming looking to conclude a sweep of a three-game road swing, having also defeated New Orleans last Thursday. Over the last two games, Mullins has averaged 16 points and 9 rebounds for the Sugar Bears, while Proffitt – who became the program's Division I era career 3-point record holder on Saturday – has averaged 15.5 points and shot 50 percent from 3-point range. Taylor Baudoin is coming off a season-high 14 points, while Jameka Watkins averaged 10 points, shooting 15 of 16 from the free throw line, and Raquel Logan continues to rank among the Southland leaders in blocked shots, ranking 4th at 1.6 per game in conference play.

After Wednesday's game, the Sugar Bears are off until Feb. 3 when they kick off a three-game homestand against Southeastern Louisiana.