CONWAY, Ark. (March 1, 2024) – The University of North Alabama women's basketball team will travel to Conway, Ark. for their final regular season road contest against Central Arkansas on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Lions hit the road for the second-straight weekend after splitting two contests last week at Lipscomb and Austin Peay. UNA got a win in dramatic fashion against the Governors last time out, using a last-minute tip-in by sophomore forward India Howard to stun Austin Peay at the buzzer.
North Alabama faces Central Arkansas for the second time this season after falling to the Sugar Bears in the Atlantic Sun Conference opener back in January. Fifteen games later, the Lions will look to even the season series on the road against a potential ASUN tournament opponent.
Tickets are available for purchase through Central Arkansas Athletics' ticket office. Live stats will be provided courtesy of SIDEARM, and the game will be available for streaming on ESPN+. Radio will also be provided by "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray on WLX 98.3 and 103.5 FM.
MATCHUP
North Alabama at Central Arkansas
Saturday, March 2, 2024
1 p.m.
Game Notes | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets | Watch
NOTES
SCOUTING THE LIONS: North Alabama enters with a 12-16 overall record with an 8-7 record in conference play. With a postseason berth already clinched, the Lions are sixth in the standings and hold the tiebreaker over Austin Peay, who is also 8-7. UNA's offense ranks third in the ASUN with 68.8 points per game and ranks among the top three ASUN teams in three-point percentage (32.2 percent/second), three pointers per game (8.1 per game/second), bench points (21.3 per game/third), free throw percentage (70.7 percent/third) and team assists (14.39 per game/third). Defensively, North Alabama has blocked the third-most shots in the ASUN with 3.57 per game.
SCOUTING THE SUGAR BEARS: Central Arkansas is third in the ASUN with a 10-5 record, posting an 11-0 overall record at home, 7-9 record on the road and 0-1 in neutral location games. The Sugar Bears are one of the best defensive teams in the conference, leading the league in opponent field-goal percentage (36.3 percent) and three-point percentage (27.8 percent). The Sugar Bears rank in the top three in defensive points per game (58.4/second), blocked shots (3.57/second), defensive rebounds (27.7/second) and total rebounds (38.3/third). The leading scorer is Jade Upshaw with 11.9 points per game to rank 13th in the conference.
SERIES HISTORY: North Alabama and Central Arkansas meet for the 12th time in the series with the Sugar Bears leading 7-4. The Lions look to get back in the win column against Central Arkansas, who won 83-63 in the last meeting on Jan. 6 in CB&S Bank Arena. UNA has won three of the last four contests against Central Arkansas, including a 75-42 victory during last season's trip to Conway.
1K MAGIC: Senior Alexis Callins became the first player to score 1,000 career points all in the Division I era against Kennesaw State. A four-year mainstay, she also became the 18th player in all of UNA Women's Basketball history to achieve this milestone. The all-time leader in scoring at UNA is Ivy Wallen, who scored 1,762 points over four seasons — two at the Division II level and two at the Division I level. Callins ranks 12th all-time at UNA with 1,118 points and needs 59 more points to move into the top 10.
AT THE BUZZER: India Howard had a career game against Austin Peay, scoring 16 points while adding six rebounds and three blocks, but her most impactful play came in the final moments of the game. She had a buzzer-beating tip-in off an offensive rebound to defeat the Govs in memorable fashion, 59-58. Her tip-in made national rounds as ESPN's Buzzer Beater of the Day.
PACK THE BANK: Eight of UNA's wins this season have come inside CB&S Bank Arena. The Lions are winning by an average margin of victory of 17 points in home contests.
NO PRESSURE: The Lions are currently third in the ASUN in free-throw percentage at 70.7 percent.
CALLINS CAN SCORE (A LOT): Callins' 14.5 PPG ranks sixth in the ASUN and is on pace for a new Division I-era record at UNA for individual season scoring average. She leads the ASUN with 2.89 three-pointers per game with 81 makes. Callins' three-point game is nationally ranked, with the senior 11th in total makes and 14th in makes per game. She also hit her 200th career three-pointer on her first shot attempt against Bellarmine.
CHARLTON KEEPS IT COOL: Charlton is remaining cool, calm and collected from the charity stripe, checking in at 81.7 percent from the line, third in the ASUN and 99th nationally.
DROPPING DIMES: Senior guard Sara Wohlgemuth ranks second in the ASUN and ranks 78th nationally with 4.4 assists per game. Her 124 assists are second in the ASUN, as well, with a 64th national ranking. She is also second in the ASUN with a 1.57 assist/turnover ratio.
MILESTONE WIN: UNA head coach Missy Tiber won her 350th career game as a head coach in the win over North Florida on Feb. 1. She has won 167 games over 11 seasons at UNA and 353 games in 24 seasons overall.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
