Southeast women will visit Central Arkansas

The Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team has struggled against a tough early schedule, and things don't figure to get much easier Saturday.

Southeast will be in Conway, Ark., to face a hot Central Arkansas squad riding a six-game winning streak. The tipoff is set for 2 p.m.

UCA (6-2) dropped its first two contests on the road before building its current streak at home, where the Sugar Bears will be playing their seventh straight game.

Southeast (3-6) has lost six of its last seven after opening the season with a pair of victories.

"It's another big challenge for us," said Southeast coach John Ishee, whose team is coming off Saturday's 66-54 home loss to Texas-Arlington. "When you're 3-6 and playing on the road, everybody is going to be tough."

UCA has already matched its win total from all of last season, when the Sugar Bears went 6-23. They were 2-14 in the Southland Conference.

The Redhawks handed UCA one of those 2008-09 defeats, 60-41 at the Show Me Center. The squads have met the past three seasons, with Southeast winning every time.

But Ishee expects to see a much improved UCA club Saturday, although the Sugar Bears have not played a particularly challenging schedule. They are outscoring their opponents by an average of 83-58.

"They've got a whole new roster," Ishee said. "They're a lot better than they have been. They'll be a very formidable opponent."

UCA has been strengthened by the addition of 5-foot-11 freshman forward Megan Herbert, who is averaging an eye-popping 23.6 points and 13.3 rebounds per game. She is shooting 63.4 percent from the field.

Herbert has scored at least 30 points in four games, including the past three. Her most impressive performance came against traditionally solid Tulsa as she had 36 points and 18 rebounds during an 86-77 victory Dec. 1.

Herbert was the 2009 Miss Arkansas Basketball after averaging 25.5 points and 10.9 rebounds for a Shiloh Christian squad that went 34-1 and won the Class 4A state title.

"She's having a great season," Ishee said. "They're a good team. They have all the parts, low post play, shooters. They can really shoot the ball."

Saturday's game begins a stretch of three straight nonconference road contests for Southeast, which plays at Alabama-Birmingham on Tuesday and Arkansas-Little Rock on Dec. 28.