Sugar Bears-McNeese Showdown #1
The Sugar Bears got their win Wednesday night over a pesky Southeastern La. team to set up the first of two regular season showdowns with the reigning Southland Champions, the McNeese State Cowgirls. McNeese has won 7 in a row, sport the best record in the SLC (16-4), and are a perfect 6-0 this year in the SLC. The Cowgirls beat Nicholls State in Lake Charles on Monday night and have had a few extra days to prepare to make the trip to Conway.
McNeese State is ranked #11 in this week’s Colleginsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, and again feature the Baggett twins and Kendra Wells, MSU’s top rebounder. I believe both teams are ranked 1-2 in 7 or 8 categories in the SLC heading into the match up tomorrow. They finished 15-1 last year in SLC play, with their lone loss coming in OT here at the Farris Center. In fact, MSU’s last 2 SLC losses have come at the hands of the Sugar Bears.
UCA is now 15-4, 5-1 in league play, and sit 1 game behind the Cowgirls after the win over SLU. The Sugar Bears, ranked #17 in this week’s Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25, are riding a 4 game winning streak, the third such streak this season, and are still perfect at home at 11-0. I hope the fans show up in force like they did for the Indiana and Alabama games, this is a big SLC battle to say the least. Tip off at the Farris Center is set for 2 pm, and the radio broadcast will begin at 1:40 pm on The Bear 91.3 and UCAsports.com.
Sugar Bears host Southeastern Louisiana
The Sugar Bears continue their three game home stand tonight at the Farris Center when they host the Lady Lions of Southeastern Louisiana at 7 pm. UCA enters tonight’s game 14-4 overall, and sit in 2nd place in the SLC East with a 4-1 mark, 1.5 games behind McNeese. (who comes to town on Saturday) The girls have won 3 in a row since the SFA loss, 6 of their last 7 and 10 of the last 12.
The Sugar Bears lead the SLC in several categories, and are even ranked in the top 10 nationally in defense in 2 categories, and top 15 in 3 different categories. The Sugar Bears remain #17 in this week’s Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. McNeese is up to #11 now.
Meanwhile, Southeastern La. comes in on the opposite end of the spectrum. The Lady Lions (5-12, 0-4) have lost 4 in a row, and 8 of their last 9 games. They have only 1 win over a true Division 1 opponent (Jackson St.) and have another over a transitional team. (New Orleans) The Lady lions were swept by UCA last year and have lost 3 of the last 4 in this series. The Sugar Bears lead the series 6-5 overall. Also, UCA tries to remain perfect at home this season. (10-0) So hopefully see you at the Farris tonight, 7 pm tip, 6:40 pregame on UCAsports.com (internet only)