CONWAY, Ark. – New Orleans Privateers men's and women's basketball teams end their five-game Southland road swing this Saturday when they travel to Central Arkansas. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. at the Farris Center for the women's game with the men's contest following. Both games will be broadcast online at ESPN3.
The Privateers men (8-10, 5-5 Southland) enter the contest having had their three-game winning streak snapped in Tulsa by Oral Roberts on Thursday night. A slow start to each half plagued the Privateers in the contest, with Oral Roberts racing out to a 9-2 lead to start, and then coming out of halftime with an 18-5 run to pull away. A pair of young Privateers scored in double-figures in the game, with
Christavious Gill scoring 12, and
James Harrison with 10.
Gill has been very strong as of late, as his 12 points on Thursday snapped a streak of four straight games that Gill had scored a career-high. In Southland play, the Alexandria product is scoring 14.0 points per game and shooting a red hot 46 percent from beyond the arc. Senior
Cory Dixon continues to lead the Privateers in scoring at 13.6 points per game, and leads the Southland in rebounds per game pulling down 8.3 a game (9.0 in conference).
The University of Central Arkansas Bears (6-15, 3-7 Southland) enter the contest having won two of their last three games after defeating Southeastern 85-71 at home on Thursday night. The game was decided at the free throw line, with the Bears connecting on more free throws (21) than Southeastern shot (14). Senior guard LaQuetin Miles scored 24 points in the game, including going 11-of-15 from the free throw line, and finished with four assists.
On the season, the Bears have struggled defensively by giving up 80.1 points per game, at the free throw line where with only a 59.9% conversion rate, and on the boards where the team averages a Southland-worst 7.0 rebounds per game less than their opponents.
Offensively they are led by Miles, who leads the Bears in scoring (22), rebounds (6.8) and is second on the team with 45 assists. The Bears have their own sharpshooting freshman as well, as Jalen Jackson is second in the league in 3-point percentage (.479) connecting on 28-of-43. Jackson along with Aubrey Ball, and DeShone McClure give the Bears three of the top 20 3-point shooters in the conference.
The Privateers women (0-21, 0-10 Southland) enter Thursday afternoon's contest trying to snap a 25-game losing streak dating back to last season. They continue to seek their first ever Southland Conference victory following Thursday's 93-62 defeat to Oral Roberts.
Danielle Davis led the Privateers in scoring in defeat, matching a career-high with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, along with three assists.
Octavia Wilson leads the Privateers women in scoring at 9.0 points per game, but has scored over 15 points in three of her last five outings. She also has scored in double figures in seven of the team's last nine contests dating back to Jan. 4 against McNeese. In league games, Wilson is scoring 11.9 per contest.
The University of Central Arkansas Sugar Bears (14-7, 8-2 Southland) are coached by Sandra Rushing. Rushing owns a 2-0 record against the Privateers, dating back to a pair of wins during the 2011-12 season while she was coaching at Delta State.
The Sugar Bears enter the contest in first place in the Southland, a game ahead of Lamar. UCA has won six of their last seven contests, including an 80-70 win over Southeastern in Conway on Thursday night. In the game, four Sugar Bear starters scored in double figures, including Courtney Duever (20), Terai Sadler (17), Brianna Mullins (12), and Maggie Proffitt (11).
On offense, Duever leads the team in scoring with 14.7 points per game, and is fourth in the Southland in rebounding at 9.3 boards per contest. Freshman guard Maggie Proffitt is the best three point shooter in the Southland, sinking 44-of-104 3-point attempts on the season, while averaging 10.4 points per game.
The Sugar Bears have the league's best defense, allowing only 58.1 per game and holding their opponents to only .410% from the field. Senior guard Micah Rice is tied for third in the league with 2.0 steals per game.
The doubleheader on Saturday afternoon will be the first meeting between both schools' men's and women's basketball programs.
Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com with the women's game starting at 2:25 p.m. and the men's game following shortly after. Radio coverage of the men's game with "The Voice of the Privateers" Jude Young will be on WGSO 990 AM, wgso.com and the on the app, with pregame coverage starting 15 minutes after the conclusion of the women's game.
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