SAN ANTONIO — After suffering their first loss since Jan. 2 and having their second nine-game winning streak of the season snapped in Wednesday's 60-56 loss to Northwestern State, the Sugar Bears look to rebound on Saturday as they travel to San Antonio to face Incarnate Word at 2:00pm.
The Sugar Bears (19-3, 9-2 Southland) responded from each of their first two losses of the season with nine-game winning streaks, and will have a chance to begin another with seven regular-season games remaining beginning with Saturday's matchup with the Cardinals (6-16, 3-8).
The teams have met just twice previously, with the Sugar Bears defeating UIW 58-49 last season in Conway and 60-40 two seasons ago in San Antonio. In last season's meeting, the Sugar Bears limited the Cardinals to just five free throw attempts, and they converted just 1 of 5 while the Sugar Bears made 8 of 13.
Brianna Mullins and
Maggie Proffitt each had 15 points in the win, and
Kendara Watts added 10. Two seasons ago, Mullins had 14 in the win as the Sugar Bears kept UIW to just 26.7 percent shooting – including 14.3 percent from 3-point range.
This season the Cardinals have been the Southland's lowest-scoring team at 57.5 points per game while the Sugar Bears sport the nation's No. 3 scoring defense, allowing just 49.5 points per game which trails only UConn's 48.7 and Samford's 49.4.
UIW is led by 5-5 senior guard Aricka Adams who averages a team-high 12.7 points per game along with 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals; 5-foot-6 junior guard Brianna Williams, who averages 12.5 points and 4.1 rebounds; and 5-11 senior forward Yvonne Maosa, who is the team's third-leading scorer at 8.2 points per game and leads the team with 6.6 rebounds per game.
UIW is 3-8 at home this season with wins over a trio of non-Division I opponents in LSU Alexandra, Sul Ross State and Howard Payne. The Cardinals have dropped their last eight at the McDermott Center, though three of the last four have been by five or fewer points, including one- and two-point losses to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Nicholls in their last two. The Cardinals are coming off a 74-62 loss at Stephen F. Austin on Thursday, their fifth in their last six games.
Saturday's game is the first of three straight on the road for the Sugar Bears, who are at McNeese State and Sam Houston State next Wednesday and Saturday.
