GAME INFORMATION
CENTRAL ARKANSAS (9-11, 5-6 Southland) vs Lamar (9-11, 5-6)
Feb, 5, 2020 • 7:00pm • Farris Center • Conway, Ark.

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SERIES HISTORY
Lamar leads 11-8
Lamar won last 1, 5 of last 7
Sugar Bears lead 6-4 in Conway


STATISTICAL LEADERS
Central Arkansas
Points Per Game: Taylor Sells (9.5)
Rebounds Per Game: Hannah Langhi (5.9)
Assists Per Game: Taylor Sells (2.6)
Blocks: Hannah Langhi (21)
Steals: Hannah Langhi & Taylor Sells (20)

Lamar
Points Per Game: Amber Vidal (13.3)
Rebounds Per Game: Briana Laidler (7.9)
Assists Per Game: Jadyn Pimentel (2.9)
Blocks: Briana Laidler (23)
Steals: Jadyn Pimentel (60)


CONWAY — The Sugar Bears return to the Farris Center this week for a pair of games, beginning with the Lamar Cardinals Wednesday night at 7:00pm as part of National Girls & Women In Sports Day. The Sugar Bears finish the week with a rematch against McNeese on Saturday at 1:00pm.

In Wednesday's matchup, the Sugar Bears (9-11, 5-6 Southland) meet up with a Cardinals (9-11, 5-6) team that had lost four in a row before winning 87-69 at McNeese on Saturday. The Cardinals, who won the league a year ago with a 17-1 Southland mark and 24-7 record overall, are 3-7 on the road this season.

The Cardinals, in their first year under head coach Aqua Franklin – previously the associate head coach at Kansas – have struggled to fill the void created by the departure of senior all-conference performers Chastadie Barrs (the Division I career steals record holder) and Moe Kinard, along with 2019 Freshman of the Year Miya Crump, who transferred to Houston. They feature just five players with more than one year of experience in the program, with seniors Briana Laidler and Ashlan Miles, along with juniors Jadyn Pimentel, Shedricka Pierson and Rikia Cowart.

Amber Vidal leads the way offensively at 13.3 points per game, while Laidler leads the team in rebounding with 7.9 per game to go with an 8.1 scoring average. Pimentel adds 7.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 3.2 steals per game. Kayla Mitchell, a freshman from Jonesboro, averages 4.3 points for the Cardinals.

The Sugar Bears come in looking to protect the home floor after splitting a pair of road games last week, finishing with a 51-44 win at Northwestern State. Alana Canady led the Sugar Bears with 15 points in that game, and has now reached double figures in seven of her last nine games. Ayanna Trigg tied Canady for the team lead with 8 rebounds, and has averaged 9.5 over her last four games.

The Sugar Bears will be looking for their first win over Lamar since a 51-39 victory in Conway in 2018, having lost 57-37 in Beaumont in last season's lone meeting.

Wednesday is National Girls and Women In Sports Day, and the University of Central Arkansas Department of Athletics will be celebrating the occasion with a series of events and a special ticket promotion. All female athletes, coaches, sports administrators and others involved in sports are invited to be recognized during halftime of the Sugar Bears-Cardinals game, with special promotional ticket pricing of $1 for general admission seating for all fans for the night.

Prior to the game, starting at 6:00pm, special guest speakers – including UCA Sports Hall of Famer and Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director Terri Conder Johnson; Greenbrier Schools Assistant Superintendent and former Sugar Bear Stephanie McNespey Worthey; and former Sugar Bear tennis athlete and Southland Conference Steve McCarty Citizenship Award recipient Marli Van Heerden – will be present, as well as current UCA student-athletes to talk to families and young athletes about what it means to be women in sports and to showcase their programs.