CONWAY, Ark. – Preparing for Game Two of a four-game home stand, the Central Arkansas women's basketball team (6-8) hosts Jacksonville State (13-3) on Wednesday. The midweek matchup is also the second game in three days for the Sugar Bears, and the second of four games in eight days. Tip-off against the Gamecocks is slated for 7 p.m. at the Farris Center.
 
Central Arkansas, a 5-2 team at home, dropped its last outing to Lipscomb on Monday, 63-54. Despite a double-double from Lucy Ibeh (16 points, 16 rebounds) and 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks from Hannah Langhi, the Sugar Bears never could quite get over the hump and create a run to close the gap with the Bisons.
 
Ibeh notched her eighth double-double of the season, a total that leads the ASUN and lands in the top-20 nationally. She now leads UCA with 15.4 points per game, the third-best mark in the conference. Her 10.9 rebounds per game also lead the team, and leads the league by three rebounds per game. With 152 total rebounds, Ibeh is the only player to reach the 150-rebound mark, with second place pulling down 127 rebounds, in two extra games, at that.
 
Langhi, now with three games of 16-plus points in her last four, also averages double-digit scoring for the Sugar Bears, tallying 11.2 points per contest. The grad student also has three games of eight or more rebounds in her last four games, and averaged 10.5 over two games last week. With eight blocks over her last two games, she now ranks ninth in the ASUN in total blocks, with 15 rejections to her name.
 
As a team, the Sugar Bears rank third in the ASUN in rebounding, coming away with almost 40 boards per game, while posting a rebounding margin that ranks second in the league, outrebounding opponents by 6.9 rebounds per game. Central Arkansas is currently 1-2 in the ASUN, having earned its first win on the road at Bellarmine.
 
Jacksonville State visits Conway on a seven-game winning streak after defeating Eastern Kentucky on the road on Saturday. The Gamecocks are 4-0 to start the ASUN portion of their schedule, holding first place in the ASUN West. Last time out, Jacksonville State narrowly defeated EKU, building a five-point lead with 13 seconds left to hold off the Colonels, despite a three-pointer with under a second left to cut the lead to two.
 
Scoring just over 70 points per game, the Jacksonville State offense ranks third in the conference, led by Imari Martin's 11.5 points per game. Eight players average over five points for the Gamecocks, with NeKiyah Thompson being the other player to average double-figure scoring at 10.1 points.
 
Head coach of the Gamecocks is Rick Pietri. Joining the program in 2013, Pietri is the school's all-time leader in wins, with 132 victories to date. Inheriting a team that had won just one game the year prior to his hiring, he immediately started turning things around, winning 14 games in his first season.
 
Tip-off against Jacksonville State is set for 7 p.m. at the Farris Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, available on radio at 91.3 The Bear, and live stats can be found here. The first 75 fans in attendance at Wednesday's game will receive free popcorn.