CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — After dismantling Houston Baptist 80-49 on Wednesday, the Sugar Bears aim for a sweep of their Southland Conference road trip on Saturday when they visit Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 4:30pm in the American Bank Center.

Both conference wins for the Sugar Bears (10-4, 2-2) have come by more than 30 points, the first time in program history they've defeated two Southland teams by 30 or more in the same season.

Continuing that streak on Saturday will be more difficult against an Islander team that comes in having won their last two games to improve to 6-10 overall and 2-3 in Southland games.

The Islanders defeated Northwestern State 60-51 last Saturday, then followed with a 77-61 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday. 

Though they've enjoyed success of late, the Islanders have struggled offensively throughout the season, ranking 321 out of 345 Division I teams with 20.3 turnovers per game and 273rd in scoring offense at 59.9 points per game.

The Sugar Bears have averaged averaged over 77 points in their last three games, pushing their season scoring average past the 70-point mark, averaging 70.8 per game while allowing just 53.2 per game, the best mark in the Southland and 6th in the nation. The Sugar Bears have also largely been able to avoid being plagued by turnovers, committing 13.1 per game, best in the Southland and 17th nationally.

Senior Camesha Davis and redshirt junior Brittany Mbamalu lead the Islanders offensively, each scoring 9.3 points per game – The 6-foot-1 Davis doing so by shooting 56.1 percent for the season; Mbamalu by hitting a team-high 25 3-pointers despite shooting just 29.8 percent beyond the arc and 29.6 percent for the season. Davis leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 6.9 per game, and has a team-best 21 blocks on the season.

In conference play, the Islanders have gotten 10.8 points per game from Mbamalu and 10.2 from freshman Emma Young, who has made 19 of her 23 free throw attempts in Southland games.

The Sugar Bears are coming off a game in which Maggie Proffitt and Maggie Proffitt both topped the 20-point mark for the second time in five games, combining for 48 points at HBU after getting 52 against Houston in their final non-conference game back on Dec. 20.

Jordan has averaged 18.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in 23.8 minutes per game in conference games, shooting 68.4 percent from the field and 77.8 percent at the free throw line. Proffitt has averaged 14.5 points and 4 rebounds, and on Wednesday moved into 4th place in Southland history in career 3-pointers with 222. She has 8 of the team's 13 3-pointers through four conference games, with Brianna Mullins making 3 of 7 and Angel Williams 2 of 4.

Raquel Logan, who is averaging 9.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in Southland play, is one of just three players in the conference with at least 20 blocks and 20 steals for the season, joining Lamar's Kiandra Bowers and ACU's Suzzy Dimba.

The Sugar Bears and Islanders have split the series with six wins apiece, including a 3-3 record in Corpus Christi. The Sugar Bears won last season's meeting by 11, but prior to that the previous four meetings had been decided by a total of 13 points.

In last year's win at the American Bank Center, Mullins had 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for the Sugar Bears while Proffitt had 15 points and 3 rebounds. Mbamalu and Davis combined for 0 points, 1 rebound and 4 assists in 33 minutes in last year's meeting. The Sugar Bears had a decided advantage at the free throw line in that game, hitting 18 of 23 compared to just 6 of 11 for the Islanders.

Pregame on The Bear 91.3 begins at 4:10. Saturday's game is the third in a stretch where the Sugar Bears play five of six on the road. After returning home for a game against McNeese on the 18th, the Sugar Bears will be back on the road for two more as they go to New Orleans on Jan. 21 and then visit league co-leader Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 25.