CONWAY — The last time the Sugar Bears played a Southland Conference opponent, they ended up with a trophy, rings and the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament as a Division I program.
After claiming the championship nine months ago, the journey back starts at 2:00pm Saturday in the Farris Center as the Sugar Bears tip off the 2016-17 Southland season against the Lamar Cardinals as the first part of a conference-opening doubleheader with the Bears taking on league favorite Sam Houston State afterward.
Saturday's game will represent a meeting of two of the league's top teams, as the Sugar Bears come in with an 8-2 record and Lamar at 7-3, occupying the top two spots behind Stephen F. Austin at 9-2. It also represents a meeting of the Southland's winningest programs since 2009-10, with Central Arkansas leading the way with 152 wins and Lamar second at 143.
The Sugar Bears last played on Dec. 19 & 20 in the Rae & Craig Blair Memorial Tournament at UTSA, picking up a pair of wins over Liberty and Houston. The Lady Cardinals finished their non-conference slate at home Thursday night, winning 93-56 over Howard Payne for their sixth consecutive win. Lamar last lost on Nov. 20, a 68-43 setback at Kansas State. Their only other losses came in the first weekend of the season, losing at Oregon State and Oregon on Nov. 11 and 13.
During their winning streak, the Cardinals have outscored their opponents by an average of 29.5 points, scoring 81.7 per game during that stretch. Lamar has done much of its damage on the defensive end as the Cards lead the nation in steals per game (14.7), turnover margin (+10.1 per game) and turnovers forced (25.6 per game).
Lamar's catalyst is sophomore guard Chastadie Barrs, who leads the nation in steals at 5.1 per game in addition to 7.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per contest. Sophomore guard Moe Kinard, a Houston transfer, leads Lamar in scoring at 14.7 points per game, including a pair of games over 20 this season. Senior post Kiandra Bowers is the only other Cardinal averaging double figures in scoring at 13.3 points per game along with 9.9 rebounds – the second-highest mark in the Southland.
The Sugar Bears, who have won 40 of their last 50 games, begin conference play 5-0 in the Farris Center this season. They'll be looking to defeat Lamar in the Farris Center for the second consecutive season, having won 74-49 on Jan. 11 to snap a three-game losing streak to the Cards.
Fresh off a 28-point performance against Houston, junior transfer
Kierra Jordan leads the Sugar Bears in scoring at 14.3 points per game in her first four games at Central Arkansas. Senior guard
Maggie Proffitt, who had 24 in the Houston win, is averaging 13.9 per game and begins the conference season with 214 career 3-pointers, which ranks 5th in Southland history and is five short of 3rd.
Junior forward
Taylor Baudoin averages 11.9 points and is second on the team with 5.1 rebounds per game, while
Taylor Strickland is the fourth Sugar Bear to average double figures scoring at 10.4 per game. Senior center
Raquel Logan leads Central Arkansas in rebounding (7.7 per game) and blocks (1.4), and is averaging 1.6 steals per game – second only to senior guard
Brianna Mullins' 1.8.
Mullins, who leads the team at 4.5 assists per game, broke the program's Division I era record for career assists in the win over Liberty, now with 322. She will be recognized for her record prior to Saturday's tip.
Coverage begins at 1:40pm on the
Bear Nation Network and on
91.3 FM The Bear.
