CONWAY, Ark. – Back after a much-deserved holiday break, the Central Arkansas women's basketball team hits the road to close out nonconference play at Alabama A&M. The Sugar Bears and Bulldogs Friday face-off is slated for a 2 p.m. start in Huntsville, Ala.
 
The Sugar Bears improved to 7-5 on the year after defeating Northwestern State on December 20^th. Leah Mafua was dynamite against the Lady Demons, leading all scorers with 18 points while holding Northwestern State's top-scorer to just five points. But like always, Central Arkansas found success from a number of players in a number of roles. Four players scored in double-figures, including 14 points off the bench from Kinley Fisher, and nearly everyone contributed on the glass, leading to the tenth game in which the Sugar Bears outrebounded their opponent.
 
Central Arkansas' seven wins out of conference are the most since 2017-18, when the Sugar Bears won 25 games overall and 11 in nonconference. That season, Central Arkansas was invited to the WBI and advanced all the way to the championship game, falling to Yale in the finals. The improvement year-to-year has been obvious, with the team outscoring opponents by 9.0 points per game and having four players average double-figures.
 
Fisher continues to lead the team in scoring with 11.8 points per contest, followed closely by Randrea Wright (11.4), Mafua (11.3) and Jade Upshaw (11.3). The quartet combines for nearly 46 points per game, and accounts for 72 three-pointers, 78 assists, 49 steals and all shoot better than 40 percent from the field. One of the four has been the team's leading scorer in all 12 games so far, with Fisher holding the single-game scoring high mark with 21 points against Denver.
 
Alabama A&M has been perfect in four home games this season, helping the team out to a 5-6 record so far this year. The Bulldogs have dropped their last two outings, however, playing three games in Miami as part of the MTE Christmas Classic. After defeating Chicago State by 37 points on December 18^th, the Bulldogs fell to FIU and Texas State by a combined 35 points in the subsequent days.
 
Amiah Simmons was the driving force for the Bulldogs out in Miami, putting together three games of double-digit scoring and reaching the 20-point mark twice. She shot 50 percent or better in all three games, and connected on seven three-pointers across the three outings. She leads her squad in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per game this season while also leading the team in three-pointers (14), free throws (19), assists (32) and steals (18).
 
As a team, Alabama A&M has found success on defense and producing high-quality shots, ranking in the top-three in the SWAC in both offensive field goal percentage and field goal percentage allowed. While also committing the fewest fouls per game in the SWAC, the Bulldogs have been able to put together the second-ranked defense in their conference, allowing just 61.1 points per game.
 
Tip-off against the Bulldogs is set for 2 p.m. on Friday, with the game being streamed on Bulldogs All-Access online. Live stats will be available for the game, and fans can keep up with all the action on The Bear 91.3, with Steve Owens on the call.