The last week of the regular season tips off Wednesday night as the Sugar Bears host Sam Houston State, trying to play their way into their 9th consecutive Southland Conference tournament. With two games remaining, the Sugar Bears hold the 8th and final position for a berth in next week's tournament in Katy, Texas - but have three teams sitting one game back in Northwestern State (the Sugar Bears' opponent in Saturday's regular season finale in Natchitoches), McNeese and Incarnate Word. Meanwhile, the Sugar Bears sit just one win behind both New Orleans (7-10) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (7-9), with the prospects of climbing to as high as 6th in the standings heading into the tournament.

Their first obstacle is a Bearkats team that won the season's first meeting 66-62 on Jan. 9 in Huntsville in a game in which the Bearkats went 30 for 43 from the free throw line, while the Sugar Bears were just 8 for 20. The Bearkats have won their last two games, most recently beating New Orleans 86-62 last Wednesday in Huntsville, but suffered a pair of close losses in their last two road games – falling 84-81 at Nicholls and 81-76 at Lamar. For the season, SHSU is 6-6 on the road. 

Wednesday will be Senior Night in the Farris Center, the final home game for seniors Antonija Bozic, Alanie Fisher and Kamry Orr, along with redshirt junior Alexyse Thomas – who will graduate and forego her final season of eligibility. 
 
GAME INFORMATION
CENTRAL ARKANSAS (11-15, 6-10 Southland) vs Sam Houston State (15-11, 10-6)
March 6, 2019 • 7:00pm • Farris Center • Conway, Ark.

MULTIMEDIA
Video: Bear Nation Network
Online Audio: Bear Nation Network (pregame begins 6:40)
Live Stats
On Twitter: @ucasports @ucascoreboard @ucawbb

SERIES HISTORY
Central Arkansas leads 14-5
10-2 under Coach Rushing
9-0 in Conway
SHSU won last meeting
Sugar Bears won previous 10

Last 5 meetings:
3/13/16 – UCA 69, SHSU 62 (Katy, Texas - Southland Conference Tournament championship)
2/15/17 – UCA 75, SHSU 48 (Conway)
1/3/18 – UCA 69, SHSU 44 (Conway)
2/28/18 – UCA 73, SHSU 53 (Huntsville)
1/9/19 – SHSU 66, UCA 62 (Huntsville)


STATISTICAL LEADERS
Central Arkansas
Points Per Game: Kamry Orr (15.8)
Rebounds Per Game: Hannah Langhi & Alanie Fisher (4.5)
Assists Per Game: Kamry Orr (3.5)
Blocks: Hannah Langhi (14)
Steals: Kamry Orr (62)

Sam Houston State
Points Per Game: Jaylonn Walker (15.4)
Rebounds Per Game: Lydia Baxter (4.3)
Assists Per Game: Jenniffer Oramas (4.8)
Blocks: Amber Leggett (23)
Steals: Jaylonn Walker (65)

NOTES

• The Sugar Bears lost by 4 at Sam Houston State in the first meeting of the season, despite shooting 44.6% to SHSU's 34.7%, including 44.4% from 3pt range to 22.2%; making 8 more FGs and 2 more 3pt shots. The difference came at the FT line, where the Bearkats were 30-of-43 and the Sugar Bears were just 8-for-20. The game featured 55 fouls, with 13 players having at least 3 fouls and 3 fouling out.

• The Bearkats have done much of their damage all season at the FT line, where they rank 3rd nationally in makes with 471 - just 15 behind national leader Notre Dame. The Bearkats also rank 4th in the nation in turnovers forced at 23.4 per game and are 9th in steals per game at 11.8

• The Sugar Bears rank 2nd in the Southland and 39th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 57.4 points per game. The Bearkats are 9th in the Southland and rank 254th nationally, allowing 67.9 per game

• After Wednesday's 2-point loss to Abilene Christian, the Sugar Bears have 7 league losses by single digits, with an average margin of 5.7 points in those losses.

• The Sugar Bears have used 20 different starting lineups this season, and have had a total of 28 games missed due to injury

UP NEXT
The regular season concludes on Saturday at Northwestern State at 1:00pm.