CONWAY — The Sugar Bears return to action tonight in the Farris Center as they host Houston Baptist at 7:00, looking to rebound from a 78-70 double-overtime loss at Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday.

After starting Southland Conference play 5-0, the Sugar Bears (15-7, 8-3 Southland) have sputtered in recent weeks, going just 2-3 over their last five games. Despite those struggles, they approach the home stretch of the regular season tied with Abilene Christian for 3rd in the league standings – still in position for a bye in the Southland tournament in Katy, Texas next month. The Sugar Bears and Wildcats trail Lamar (10-1) and Stephen F. Austin (9-1) in the championship race and the hunt for a coveted double-bye at the tournament.

To maintain their position, and hopes of climbing back toward the top, they'll need to regroup against a Houston Baptist team hungry for a win, as the Huskies come to Conway with a 6-14 overall record and just 2-8 in the Southland.

Both of those wins have come on the road, however, as HBU has defeated Sam Houston State and Incarnate Word on their home floors, and lost by just one at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

HBU is led by Amanda Johnson, who scores 16.3 points per game – the lone Husky averaging more than 8.8 per game.

Taylor Baudoin continues to pace the Sugar Bears, averaging 14.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game for the season while shooting 51.8 percent overall, 33.3 percent from 3-point range and 76 percent at the free throw line. Despite averaging just 7.4 points over the last five games on 24 percent shooting (12 of 50) – including just 3 for 20 (15 percent) from 3-point range – Kamry Orr is the Sugar Bears' 2nd-leading scorer at 13.2 points per game.

Over the last two games, Antonija Bozic has averaged 16 points – including 20 at Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday – and has hit 10 of 22 (45.5 percent) from 3-point range. Over her last six games, she is 16 of 31 (51.6 percent) from long range and leads the Southland in 3-point percentage in conference play at 48.6 percent.

Over the last five games, the Sugar Bears have shot just 39 percent from the field (102 of 261) and are 21 of 76 (27.6 percent) from 3-point range. They will have an opportunity to turn their fortunes around against an HBU team that ranks last in conference play in scoring defense – allowing 70.7 points per game. By contrast, the Sugar Bears – despite allowing 78 in Saturday's double-overtime game – top the Southland by giving up just 50 per game.

Tonight's game falls on National Girls & Women In Sports Day, and all children 13 and under wearing their youth team's jersey will be admitted for $1. It begins a stretch where three of the next four are in the Farris Center, with Nicholls (Feb. 17) and SFA (Feb. 21) coming to Conway following the Sugar Bears' trip to McNeese next Wednesday.

FOLLOW
• Watch on Bear Nation Network
• Streaming audio-only broadcast (due to conflict with Bears at Houston Baptist on The Bear 91.3), pregame begins 6:40
• Live Stats
• Follow @ucasports, @ucascoreboard and @ucawbb on Twitter

NOTES
• The Sugar Bears are 20-4 in February since 2015, including a 12-2 mark in the Farris Center
• The Sugar Bears have won 7 of the 9 meetings against HBU, going 5-1 since the Huskies joined the league in 2014. HBU has never won in Conway, with the Sugar Bears holding a 4-0 record with an average margin of 24.5 points
• The Sugar Bears swept last year's series against the Huskies by a combined score of 163-88 – an average margin of 37
• In last year's meetings, Kierra Jordan averaged 18.5 points and 9 rebounds