CONWAY, Ark. – Happy New Year, Sugar Bear Nation! The Central Arkansas women's basketball team opens the 2022 calendar year with a home game against Jarvis Christian on Sunday, Jan. 2. Game time against the Bulldogs is set for 2 p.m. at the Farris Center. Sunday's game marks the final nonconference game of the schedule, with UCA's first ASUN schedule awaiting on the other side.
 
Playing for the first time in a couple of weeks, the Sugar Bears' last outing came on Dec. 18, when the team played Arkansas at Simmons Bank Arena. Though the second half got away from UCA, the team held strong in the first half, going toe-to-toe with the SEC opponent for much of the opening two quarters. Lucy Ibeh led the way for the Sugar Bears with 17 points and nine rebounds, coming up just shy of her fifth double-double of the season.
 
Ibeh continues to lead the team in scoring, rebounding and steals. At 13.7 points per game, her scoring average ranks as the seventh-best mark in the ASUN. Ibeh tops the conference in rebounding, snaring 9.1 rebounds per contest, including 2.9 offensive boards a game. Defensively, her 22 steals on the season are the fifth-most in the ASUN. The Lagos, Nigeria native has scored double-figures in seven games this season and has averaged three steals per game over her last three contests.
 
Some of the young players for the Sugar Bears have shown improvements over the month of December, earning bigger roles and showing off their hard work. Lashiyah Fowler notched her first-career double-digit scoring game against Central Baptist, connecting on three triples on her way to 11 points. Ruth Balogun also scored a season-best against the Lady Mustangs, adding six points and four rebounds. Gloria Fornah has scored in five-straight games, dating back to the end of November, and has five or more rebounds in three of her last four appearances.
 
UCA has played Jarvis Christian one time in the schools' histories, back in 2015. The Sugar Bears held the Bulldogs to just 16 percent shooting in the 77-23 win, holding Jarvis Christian under 10 points in each quarter.
 
On the other side of the floor, Jarvis Christian, out of the NAIA, has had a bit of a bumpy start to the season. The Bulldogs lost five in a row, including two exhibition games and a forfeited game, before claiming their first win of the season over Dallas Christian. After losing a pair of games to COVID protocols, Jarvis Christian took the court on Thursday for an exhibition against Prairie View A&M.
 
Brianna Page leads the team in scoring through Jarvis Christian's three games of record, notching 17.0 points per contest. She also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 10.7 boards per game. Daeja Monroe and Makaila Cheatem also average double-figure scoring, netting 14.5 and 11.7 points per game, respectively.
 
Tip-off against the Bulldogs is set for 2 p.m. at the Farris Center. Fans can find all links for the game at UCASports.com, including a watch link, stats, and tickets.