CONWAY — In a season of superlatives, Central Arkansas added one more in its regular season finale on Saturday as the Sugar Bears trounced McNeese State 76-52 in the Farris Center in the most lopsided game in the history of the 21-game series between the teams.

The Sugar Bears (26-3, 16-2 Southland) conclude their season with a program record for regular season wins and conference wins, and get the fourth 26-win season in program history while setting a new high mark for wins in a season during their Division I era.

In getting their first season sweep of the Cowgirls (19-11, 11-7) since 2012, the Sugar Bears head into next week's Southland Conference Tournament in Katy, Texas as the No. 1 seed while riding a seven-game winning streak.

On Senior Day in the Farris Center, senior Kendara Watts led the Sugar Bears in scoring with a season-high 18 on 6-for-9 shooting, while senior Jameka Watkins had 9 points and a team-high 8 assists.

"I was kind of emotional before the game," said Central Arkansas head coach Sandra Rushing. "I'm really proud of these seniors. They mean a lot to me. I'm proud of this bunch. Ken did a good job for us and she's been great for us over the last two seasons. And [Watkins], I thought she did an outstanding job today. For four years I've watched that young lady mature and develop, and for her to go out like that in her last game in the Farris Center means a lot. But this is not our last game, and we've got a lot of unfinished business."

Though the Sugar Bears had jumped on the Cowgirls early and built a double-digit lead in the first quarter, the Cowgirls cut it to as little as five during the second quarter. The Sugar Bears, however, answered with a 12-2 run late in the second quarter to go up 40-25 and took a 45-29 lead into the locker room at the half.

The second half was more of the same as the Sugar Bears outscored the Cowgirls 18-13 in the third quarter, then poured it on in the fourth as the lead extended to as many as 30.

"I thought our defense was pretty solid," Rushing said. "Of course we made a few mistakes here and there, but overall I was very, very pleased."

The Sugar Bears got a season-high 13 points from Sandy Jackson, who also had 5 rebounds. Brianna Mullins had 11 and 6, and Olivia McWilliams had 9 points – her highest total in 23 games. Maggie Proffitt, the Sugar Bears' leading scorer for the season, was limited to 5 points on just 2-for-4 shooting.

"We had a lot of people step up," Rushing said. "I'm very pleased with that. Maggie didn't get a whole lot of shots off, and other people had to step up, and that was good to see, because we know that they are going to try to take Maggie away. And when she's not getting shots, we need others to step up."

The Sugar Bears also got a few minutes down the stretch from senior Taya Novokreshchenova, who has played just 67 minutes all season. Novokreshchenova, a Moscow, Russia native who has spent two seasons in a Sugar Bear uniform after transferring from Frank Phillips College, was slated to start in what is likely her final home game – but declined.

"Taya is the most unselfish player I have ever coached," Rushing said. "I normally start the seniors, but before the game she comes to me and said 'no, Coach. This game's really important and I don't want to start.' Who's going to say that? Even when she is not playing, she is always congratulating her teammates and keeping the bench going. That young lady means so much to me, and I'm so proud of her."

With a week before their next game, the Sugar Bears will begin preparation for their sixth straight Southland tournament appearance – though they won't know their opponent until Friday afternoon as they await their opponent in the semifinals after earning the double bye with the top seed.

"We'll take Sunday off then we're back to work on Monday," Rushing said. "We'll push them pretty good Tuesday and Wednesday because we don't want to get out of game shape. Whoever we face on Saturday will have at least one game under their belt. And we don't know who we play yet, so we'll cover them all. My staff does a tremendous job, and we'll be ready."