CONWAY, Ark. – One last regular season game on the schedule for the Central Arkansas women's basketball team, one last time to defend home court before the ASUN Championships next week. Saturday's game is against North Alabama, and starts at 1 p.m. in the Farris Center.
 
The Sugar Bears (18-10, 10-5 ASUN) are trying to get back on track after suffering back-to-back losses in Tennessee last week. It marked just the second time all season that Central Arkansas has lost back-to-back games. Big picture, the Sugar Bears are all but locked into the ASUN's third seed for next week's Championships. Central Arkansas also looks to complete its first perfect home run since 2012, when the team went 16-0 in the Farris Center.
 
As the season winds down, three Sugar Bears still average double-figures, with Jade Upshaw leading the pack with 11.9 per game. The junior guard also leads the team with 53 three-pointers, the most by a Sugar Bear since 2017-18. Kinley Fisher is five total points behind Upshaw, averaging 11.7 points per game, and has 41 three-pointers to her season total. The team's 176 threes this season are the most by a Sugar Bear squad since 2011-12, when the team hit 216 shots from distance.
 
Against the ASUN this season, the Sugar Bears have outscored opponents by nearly six points per game, holding nine of them under 60 points. Central Arkansas foes have only shot 36.9 percent from the field and 26.9 percent from three during conference games. Much of that is thanks to the defensive efforts of Bree Stephens, who has 20 steals and 24 blocks during conference play. She not only leads the league in blocked shots during ASUN games, but is the only player in the conference to log 20 blocks and 20 steals. Over the length of the entire season, she is the only player in the ASUN that breaches the top-10 in both defensive categories, ranking second with 39 blocks and tenth with 41 steals.
 
Central Arkansas won the last matchup against the Lions, the conference opener in Florence back in January. The 83 points scored by the Sugar Bears are a team-record against an ASUN opponent, and Fisher's 24 points off the bench were a career-high for the Greenwood native. Against the Lions that day, five Sugar Bears scored in double-digits, including two off the bench, and the team scored 20-plus in three of the four quarters. Defensively, Central Arkansas held North Alabama to 34 percent from the floor and 27 percent from three, forcing 16 turnovers and allowing just 62 points.
 
The Lions clinched a spot in the ASUN Championships with a record of 12-16 overall and 8-7 in conference. Depending on how tiebreakers fall for the Lions, they could fall anywhere from the five to the seventh seeds. Most recently, the Lions got a huge road win at Austin Peay last Saturday, taking home a one-point win over the Govs. Down six at the start of the fourth, the Lions outscored the Govs 20-13 in the final frame, shooting 60 percent to overcome the deficit and scoring the final basket as the buzzer sounded.
 
Alexis Callins still leads the Lions in scoring with the final weekend upon the ASUN, averaging 14.5 points per game. The senior guard relies heavily on the three-pointer, making a league-best 81, which account for nearly 56 percent of her field goals. She also contributes 44 assists, 34 steals and 12 blocks this season.
 
Tip-off against the Lions is set for 1 p.m. in the Farris Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available. Fans can also follow along on the radio at The Bear 91.3.