Conway – The Central Arkansas women's soccer team continued the best start to Southland Conference play in program history on Friday night, defeating the Incarnate Word Cardinals
5-0 to earn their seventh shutout of the season.

Sophomore Camille Bassett got the scoring started just 30 seconds into the match, finishing off a combination from senior Shelby Wilson and sophomore Ashley Smith to put the Bears (9-3-0, 4-0-0 SLC) up 1-0 with her sixth goal of the season. Bassett would push the lead to 2-0 in the 25^th minute, collecting a loose ball off of a UIW header and beating the Cardinal keeper to the bottom-right corner.

"Her athleticism is unbelievable," said UCA head coach Jeremy Bishop of the 2015 Southland Freshman of the Year. "Sometimes when you watch her it's just unbelievable, the speed and the power that she's got. And when she creates those chances, she usually puts the ball in the net. It's great for us to get goals that early, because it takes the pressure off. Maybe we coasted a bit, but to have that confidence that we can get things done early is great."

Smith would get in on the scoring in the 49^th minute, collecting a pass across the box from Bassett and putting it in from seven yards out to make it 3-0 UCA with her seventh goal of the season. Bassett struck again in the 56^th minute, gathering a pass from senior Allie Coleman and firing a rocket to the back-side upper-90 to make it 4-0 and complete her first career hat trick.

Junior Dayna Mounie would cap the scoring just two and a half minutes later, making a run through the UIW (3-6-1, 2-2-0 SLC) defense and finishing bottom-right for her fourth goal of the season.

On the night, Central Arkansas took 24 shots, placing 11 of them on frame. Bassett led the way with five shots on target, while Mounie put a pair on goal. Smith, Coleman, sophomore Autum Schwartz, and freshman Carlee Spears each put a single shot on target.

On his team's efficiency on the night, Bishop said, "That's something that we've talked about all year, just making the most of our scoring chances by just putting it on frame.
It doesn't have to go through the net, it just has to cross the line, and I think that that's something that we've really tried to emphasize and that our girls are doing a really good job of."

In goal, junior Anna Hughes made a pair of saves in 45 minutes of action, while sophomore Lauren Mercuri made three saves while playing 33 minutes in goal. Junior Sarah Mayorga went untested in 12 minutes of action.

For the second straight match, the Bears have been able to play heavy bench minutes, a fact that Bishop couldn't be more pleased with. "I think it helps from a rest standpoint, but it also helps from an experience stand point. Sometimes you struggle to find minutes for players that you know need some, because they might need them later in the season. So for them to get those opportunities in game situations is big for us."

Central Arkansas returns to action on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 PM, hosting Abilene Christian in a battle of two of the Southland's top teams. "We've been watching them this week getting ready for both of these games," said Bishop of the Wildcats. "They've got some quality athletes, so we know that they're going to be a tough opponent. Just looking at the standing and on paper, we've got maybe the other two teams that are going to be competing for that top spot in our next two teams between Abilene and SFA, so we've got to get ready for Sunday, prepare for it well tomorrow, and put out a good effort."