Southeastern Louisiana (5-7, 0-1 SLC) vs. Central Arkansas (5-6, 0-1 SLC)
Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019 | 1 p.m. | Hammond, La. | University Center, 7,500
Series History: UCA leads 16-8
Last Meeting: Southeastern Louisiana 78, Central Arkansas 70, 2 OT (Feb. 3, 2018 – Hammond, La.)
Television: None
Radio: KSLU-FM (90.9)
         Announcer: Chris Salim
Live Video
Live Audio
Live Stats
        
HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana women's basketball team will continue its home stand to open Southland Conference play when it welcomes Central Arkansas to the University Center for a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday.
 
The Lady Lions (5-7, 0-1 Southland) and Sugar Bears (5-6, 0-1 Southland) will face off in the opener of the first league doubleheader in Hammond of 2018-19. The SLU-UCA men's contest will wrap up the day's action at 4 p.m.
 
Aminat Jubril will be Saturday's Spotlight Player of the Game. The first 150 fans will receive a trading card featuring the Lagos, Nigeria native courtesy of PRIDE.
 
Saturday's game will feature a pair of teams looking for their first conference wins of the 2017-18 season. Southeastern opened conference play with a 62-51 home loss to Stephen F. Austin, while UCA dropped a 73-65 decision to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on New Year's Eve in Conway, Ark.
 
Both the Lady Lions and Sugar Bears have been excellent on defense, while struggling offensively in 2018-19. Celica Sterling (15.7 ppg) paces a SLU team that is averaging 54.3 points per game, while Kamry Orr's 13.9 points per contest is tops on a Central Arkansas squad that is scoring at a 59.0 point per game clip.
 
Jaclyn Scholvin (3.3 apg, 9^th) and Tyler Morrison (3.2 apg, 10^th) represent Southeastern among the league's assist leaders. Orr also tops the Sugar Bears with 3.0 assists per outing.
 
Southeastern has a big advantage in terms of productivity from behind the arc. Sterling's league-high 37 three-point field goals are more than UCA's 32 as a team this season.
 
UCA has a large advantage of its own over the Lady Lions in terms of production on the glass. The Sugar Bears come to Hammond with a plus-3.0 rebounding margin, while SLU has been outrebounded by an average of nearly eight boards per contest.
 
SLU's Caitlyn Williams is the top rebounder on either squad with 6.6 rebounds per contest. Mekaylan Hicks (5.5 rpg) leads UCA with 5.5 rebounds per game.
 
Both teams have done the job on the defensive end. Southeastern is allowing 60.7 points and forcing 19.2 turnovers per outing behind Scholvin's team-high 27 steals. Orr (19 steals) and Hicks (16 blocks) are the defensive anchors for UCA, which is yielding a league-low 54.8 points per game.
 
Saturday will mark the 25^th all-time meeting between the two schools and the first of two this season. UCA holds a 16-8 advantage over SLU in the series, which last season saw both teams protect their home court. The Lady Lions will return to Central Arkansas on Feb. 9.
 
Saturday will be the second of three straight games at home for the Lady Lions. Next Saturday, Southeastern welcomes Abilene Christian for a 1 p.m. contest in the University Center. Exclusively for the women's SLU-ACU game, Southeastern Athletics will sponsor the Dads and Daughters game. Any father and daughter attending the game together can get two tickets for $10.
 
Next Saturday's Spotlight Player of the Game is Rhomiya Tate. The first 150 fans will receive a trading card featuring the Tickfaw, Louisiana native courtesy of PRIDE.
 
The SLU-ACU contest can be heard live in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9), online at www.LionSports.net/listenlive and via the Lions Game Day Experience, Radio FX and TuneIn Radio apps. LionVision subscribers will also be able to access a live video stream at www.LionSports.net/watch.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
For ticket information on the Southeastern women's basketball season, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.lionsports.net/tickets.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Women's Basketball, follow @SoutheasternWBB on Twitter, like /SoutheasternWBB on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics has instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.