Women's Basketball | 1/6/2017 6:54:00 AM
ACU vs. Central Arkansas:
Live stats |
Video (ESPN3) |
Audio (98.1 FM – The Ticket) |
Gamenotes
ABILENE - Last season's two best teams from the Southland Conference square off Saturday at 2 p.m. at Moody Coliseum, where the defending regular-season champions from Abilene Christian will play host to the tournament champions from Central Arkansas. The game will be streamed on ESPN3 and is being sponsored by McGavock Nissan.
There is also a live stats option and the game will be carried locally on 98.1 FM – The Ticket with Al Pickett covering for
Grant Boone, who is on assignment this weekend for Golf Channel.
This will be the fourth all-time meeting between Abilene Christian and Central Arkansas and game two of a season-long four-game Southland Conference homestand. ACU (8-6, 2-0 Southland) defeated New Orleans Tuesday night, 68-55, thanks to a second-half comeback that included a 22-for-25 effort from the free-throw line. The Wildcats additionally received a pair of double-doubles from seniors
Lizzy Dimba (15/11) and
Sydney Shelstead (14/15) plus a career-high 11 points from freshman
Breanna Wright, who logged her third complete game of the season.
Suzzy Dimba also had a strong outing with 13 points and five blocks, which are tied for the most by any Southland player this season.
ACU trails its all-time series with Central Arkansas, 2-1, after beating the Sugar Bears for the first time last season in Conway during the conference season opener, 61-49. That win would prove to be the difference in the final league standings as the Wildcats finished just one game ahead of UCA with a remarkable 17-1 record. ACU won its first nine Southland games last season before falling at Lamar, 63-54, and then finished the year on an eight-game winning streak despite being without senior
Lizzy Dimba for the final six contests.
Central Arkansas' (9-3, 1-1 Southland) only other league loss last season was against Northwestern State on Feb. 10, 60-56. From there, the Sugar Bears went 9-0 and represented the league in the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to Louisville in the first round, 87-60. The Wildcats, meanwhile, earned their very first trip to the WNIT.
UCA has four players this season averaging 10 or more points per game led by Kierra Jordan (14.5 ppg), Maggie Proffitt (13.1), Taylor Baudoin (11.2) and Taylor Strickland (10.4). Raquel Logan is the Sugar Bears' leading rebounder with 7.4 per game.
Central Arkansas went 8-2 in non-conference play, picking up wins over Houston and Liberty along the way. The Sugar Bears then lost to Lamar to begin conference play, but rebounded Monday night with a convincing 76-43 win vs. Northwestern State.
The Wildcats' all-time record vs. the Southland is 36-16 (.692) with their last conference home loss taking place in February of 2015 vs. Lamar – a winning streak of 13 games.
