CONWAY, Ark. – Central Arkansas women's basketball gets set for its first home game of the season, taking on Division III Lyon College in the Farris Center on Friday. Tip-off against the Scots is set for 6:30 p.m.
The Sugar Bears (0-1) saw a glimpse of a quality team on Monday despite the loss to Mizzou, falling 78-71 to the SEC Tigers in Columbia.
Shae Littleford led the way with 17 points, and was one of four players to score in double-figures.
Cheyanne Kemp had 12,
Bree Stephens added 11, and
Jenna Cook logged ten off the bench.
It was also a good start for some of the new faces, with seven players putting on the Purple and Gray for the first time. Three of those new players made their first start, in Littleford,
Paris Santacaterina and
Julianna Gibson, while Layla Reese,
Emerie Bohanon,
Linda Amaning and
Alexis Cox making their debuts from the bench.
The Sugar Bears have made the Farris Center an incredibly tough place to play over the last two seasons, going 28-3 since
Tony Kemper returned as head coach. Of those three losses, one was to ASUN Champion FGCU, and the other two losses have come in national postseason games, both games in the WNIT. The last two seasons mark the first time that the Sugar Bears have won at least 28 games over two seasons at home since 2016-18, when the Sugar Bears were 28-4.
Lyon College gets to see its first action against another team on Friday, albeit in an exhibition for the Scots. Lyon will play a game that counts on Sunday against Hendrix, but gets to see a roster that brings in 16 new players, returning just six players from last year's team.
Among the returners, the Scots brought back their top-two scorers in Natalya Kaza (20.6 ppg) and Savanna Lopez (13.5 ppg). Lopez also led the team with 9.1 rebounds per game and 87 blocked shots. Kaza had five games of 30-plus points last year, including a season-high 37 against MUW. Lopez added ten double-doubles, with season-highs of 30 points and 14 rebounds, and logged a triple-double against Blackburn, recording 12 points, 11 rebounds and ten blocks.
The Sugar Bears and Scots tip off at 6:30 p.m. in the Farris Center. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available online. Fans can also listen to the game on the radio, following along at 91.3 The Bear, with Steve Owens on the call.
