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Coming off the greatest turnaround in Southland Conference history after improving 15 wins from the previous season, Central Arkansas comes into the 2010-11 season with hopes of improving further off last season's 21-8 overall mark and 11-5 league record.
All nine players from last season's team return, led by Southland Freshman of the Year Megan Herbert who topped the league in both scoring and rebounding and led the nation in total rebounds.

The most inexperienced team in the nation last season with only three combined years of Division I experience, the 2010-11 version of the Sugar Bears will be a much more veteran unit.

The Sugar Bears basketball team is coming off of a successful season last year, and Coach Matt Daniel said they are doing everything they can to prepare for another successful season this year.
Last year the Sugar Bears finished with an overall record of 21-8, a Southland Conference record of 11-5 and 10-3 in nonconference play.
Daniel was named the 2010 Southland Conference Coach of the Year and has added three new members to his coaching staff this season, including Tiffany Brooks one of his former players at the University of Missouri.
He has also hired Terrell Coburn as director of player development/assistant strength coach and Brandon Johnson as film exchange coordinator.
The Sugar Bears are playing well known schools this season, including the SEC powerhouse University of Alabama Crimson Tide on Nov. 14 in Tuscaloosa, but Daniel said they aren’t preparing for that game any differently than they prepare for the others.
“No game is bigger than any other in our minds, and we don’t change how we prepare. The Nov. 12 game against Hendrix is the one we are focused on,” Daniel said.

NCAA TOURNAMENT AND UALR

Arkansas-Little Rock being awarded the first- and second-round games of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament for 2012 could be good news for University of Central Arkansas fans.

The Sugar Bears, who transformed from a struggling team to a legitimate Souhland Conference contender in Matt Daniel’s second year as coach, should have a seasoned team for the 2011-2012 and project longrange to be a strong favorite for a division and overall SLC championship. If the Sugar Bears can win the SLC title and gain the league’s automatic berth in the tournament, they should stand a good chance of playing the opening-round games at the Jack Stephens Center at UALR.

That’s a lot of ifs, but just one of many aspects that UALR gaining the tournament is huge for women’s college basketball in this area.

Matt Daniel, in his third season, returns every player on the roster of a 21-8, 11-5 team last season that made the eighth-biggest improvement in NCAA Division I history.

He’s also added four players, including former Conway High all-stater Sidney Stewart, to the mix.

“It’s the most competitive environment I’ve been around,” Dnaiel said. “We’re trying to pick up the pace in the way we play even more.”

The Sugar Bears are ranked 39th in a preseason poll of women’s mid-major conference teams.

“That’s quite an accomplishment for the youngest team in the country,” he said. “Knowing people are taking notice even before bing considered for postseason is a testament to the vision or our program and how our players have embraced and adapted to that.”

UCA teams are eligible for the postseason for the first time this year.

Herbert was one of only three players in the NCAA to average more than 20 points and 10 rebounds a game and was the only freshman. She is one of only four players in Southland history to lead the league in scoring (21.8) and rebounding (13.8) in the same season, and her 633 points were the most scored in a season by a Southland player since 1997. Her 399 rebounds tied for second in the NCAA and ranked seventh in conference history. Her 190 free throws rank second in league history and her .554 field goal percentage mark was the highest in the league since 2002. Herbert’s 27 double-doubles led the NCAA, set the Southland single-season record, and her 23 consecutive double-doubles rank second all-time in NCAA Division I behind former Oklahoma All-American Courtney Paris, who had 33 in 2007.

And Daniel considers Herbert only part of a large and versatile mix.

“We really like all 15 on our roster,” Daniel said. “We can put some dangerous situations on the court with anybody on a roster, depending on how we want to play the game.”