CONWAY, Ark. – Back at home for the final time before Christmas, the Sugar Bears basketball team will take on Champion Christian on Wednesday. Tipping off at 1 p.m. at the Farris Center, Central Arkansas takes on a Lady Tigers team for the first time in program history.
 
The Sugar Bears (4-5) look to regroup on Wednesday, with the team on a three-game slide after Monday's loss at Pine Bluff. Randrea Wright led the way with a season-high 18 points, connecting on a career-best 12 free throws. Kyjai Miles put together her first double-double as a Sugar Bear, logging 11 points and 11 boards, with seven on the offensive glass, and Parris Atkins continued to put up numbers, dropping a sixth game of double-digit scoring with 11 points against the Golden Lions.
 
Central Arkansas is now 2-2 in games decided by fewer than 10 points, having picked up single-digit wins over ULM and Little Rock earlier this year. Overall on the season, the Sugar Bears have been active in passing lanes and creating live-ball turnovers; as a team, Central Arkansas has produced 65 steals, compared to 54 for its opponents. Leading the team through nine games, Atkins and Kayla Mitchell have 13 steals each. Against Pine Bluff, Mitchell was a terror to Golden Lion ball handlers, coming away with a career-best five swipes, helping the Sugar Bears to 13 points off turnovers.
 
Champion Christian, on the other side, is a very new program, debuting as a National Christian College Athletics Association basketball team in 2018-19, yet producing a respectable 66-22 record in its five seasons of existence. This year, the Lady Tigers are 6-1, having most recently defeated Kansas Christian College 71-51 on Thursday.
 
Senior Kamryn Gentry leads the team in scoring and rebounding, putting up 16.7 points and 17.0 rebounds per game. Junior Justys Irish-Homes is second in scoring, logging 15.8 points per game, shooting 38 percent on 56 attempts from three-point range. As a team, Champion Christian is averaging 79 points per game, the best among NCCAA Division II schools; allowing just 60 points per game, the Lady Tigers outscore opponents by nearly 20 points per game, also the best in Division II of the NCCAA.
 
Wednesday's game will tip-off at 1 p.m. at the Farris Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, with live stats available here. Fans can also keep up with all the action on the radio, listening to Steve Owens call the game on 91.3 The Bear.