Following their fourth straight blowout victory on Wednesday, a 76-45 rout of McNeese, the Sugar Bears will look to keep the momentum down the stretch as they travel to Nicholls to face the Colonels on Saturday, seeking revenge after a 64-60 loss in the Farris Center on January 19. 

Winners of the last four by an average of 31 points per game, the Sugar Bears head into Saturday's game with the longest active winning streak in the Southland Conference and will be trying to reach five straight Southland wins for the 8th time in program history. Standing in their way is a Colonels squad that sits tied for 3rd in the Southland standings with a 9-4 league mark and is 8-1 at Stopher Gym this season. The Colonels have won four of their last five, winning their last two after falling 76-66 at Abilene Christian on February 13. 

The Colonels won the first meeting between the teams this season by scoring 23 fourth-quarter points and holding the Sugar Bears scoreless for 6:37 to begin the 4th, building a lead as large as nine before the Sugar Bears were able to cut it to as little as two in the final minute. In that game, Kamry Orr had 14 points and 5 rebounds and Antonija Bozic had 13 points. The Sugar Bears also got 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals from junior guard Taylor Sells, who has missed the last three games with a foot injury. Nicholls got 25 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals from reigning Southland Player of the Year Cassidy Barrios.

The Sugar Bears will be shooting for their fourth straight win in Thibodaux, winning last year's meeting 69-48 behind 32 points from Orr and 12 from Bozic, who was 4-for-4 from 3-point range in 9 minutes.

Saturday's game begins a four-game stretch in which the Sugar Bears will face four of the top five teams in the conference standings in Nicholls (tied for 3rd), Stephen F. Austin (tied for 1st), Abilene Christian (tied for 3rd) and Sam Houston State (5th). The Sugar Bears currently sit 7th in the league standings as they look to make their 9th consecutive Southland Conference Tournament, which takes the top 8 teams.


GAME INFORMATION
CENTRAL ARKANSAS (11-12, 6-7 Southland) at Nicholls (15-10, 9-4)
February 23, 2019 • 2:00pm • Stopher Gym • Thibodaux, La.

MULTIMEDIA
Video
Online Audio: The Bear 91.3 (pregame begins 1:40)
Live Stats
On Twitter: @ucasports @ucascoreboard @ucawbb

SERIES HISTORY
Central Arkansas leads 16-8
6-5 under Coach Rushing
8-4 in Thibodaux
Nicholls won last meeting
Sugar Bears won previous 5
Sugar Bears won last 3 in Thibodaux

Last 5 meetings:
3/2/16 - UCA 56, NICH 51 (Conway)
2/11/17 - UCA 61, NICH 52 (Thibodaux, La.)
1/13/18 - UCA 69, NICH 48 (Thibodaux, La.)
2/17/18 - UCA 60, NICH 42 (Conway)
1/19/19 - NICH 64, UCA 60 (Conway)


STATISTICAL LEADERS
Central Arkansas
Points Per Game: Kamry Orr (16.3)
Rebounds Per Game: Hannah Langhi (4.6)
Assists Per Game: Kamry Orr (3.6)
Blocks: Hannah Langhi (11)
Steals: Kamry Orr (55)

Nicholls
Points Per Game: Cassidy Barrios (20.2)
Rebounds Per Game: Cassidy Barrios (11.1)
Assists Per Game: Cassidy Barrios (4.4)
Blocks: Cassidy Barrios (31)
Steals: Cassidy Barrios (51)


NOTES
• The Sugar Bears enter Saturday's game with the Southland's longest active winning streak, having won their last 4 – their longest streak of the season. The wins have come by an average of 31 points per game, the best 4-game stretch in the program's Southland history.
• The Sugar Bears have averaged 75.5 points in their last 4 games, the first time they have scored 70 or more in 4 straight Southland games since doing so in February of 2017, which ties their longest such streak – also doing so in Feb. of 2016 and Jan.-Feb. of 2008.
• UCA leads the Southland and is 16th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 55.6 points per game.
• Over the last three games, the Sugar Bears have made 49.3 percent of their field goal attempts (75 of 152); 47.1 percent from 3-point range (16 of 34); and 75.6 percent from the free throw line (62 of 82)
• In Southland play, Kamry Orr ranks 3rd in the league in scoring (19.6); 3rd in assists (4.8); 2nd in steals (2.9); 2nd in free throws made (72) and 5th in FT pct. (81.8). She has averaged 20.4 ppg over her last 10 games, scoring at least 20 in 7 of those games.
• After scoring in double figures just twice in the first 19 games of the season, freshman Alana Canady eached double figures in 3 straight before scoring 9 vs McNeese, averaging 12.8 points in those 4 games.
• Of the Sugar Bears' 7 Southland losses, 6 have come by single digits, with an average margin of defeat of just 6.3  in those games.
• Nicholls ranks 3rd nationally in free throws made with 426, and is 9th in free throw percentage at 77.0. 
• The Colonels' Cassidy Barrios leads the Southland in 11 statistical categories including points per game (20.2), rebounds per game (11.1), free throw percentage (88.3) and double-doubles (17) – the 8th-highest total in the country.


UP NEXT
A trip to Southland co-leader Stephen F. Austin awaits the Sugar Bears on Wednesday before returning to the Farris Center for the final two home games of the season against Abilene Christian on Saturday, March 2 and Sam Houston State on Wednesday, March 6. The regular season concludes at Northwestern State on March 9.