Sugar Bears Travel to League-Leader Oral Roberts for Golden Eagles Senior Day

Courtesy University of Central Arkansas Athletics Department

TULSA — Two of the most accomplished players in the country will meet at 5 p.m. on Tuesday when Central Arkansas squares off against Oral Roberts in their first meeting as Southland Conference foes, pitting UCA’s Megan Herbert against ORU’s Kevi Luper.

That duo has combined for five conference player of the year awards, nearly 5,000 points, seven Southland Conference player of the week awards this season, and rank among the national leaders in a number of career statistical categories. 

Though the first-place Golden Eagles (13-11, 10-4 Southland) have a variety of weapons, they are led by Luper – a 5-foot-10 guard who won Summit League Player of the Year in each of her first three collegiate seasons before moving to the Southland this season, and has been selected to all-american teams and as a member of Team USA in the Pan-American Games. With 2,720 career points, she ranks second among active Division-I players behind only Baylor’s Brittney Griner, and her 22.9 points per game average is second only to Delaware standout Elena Delle Donne. Luper also leads all active players in steals and steals average. She is the only player to ever lead the nation in both scoring and steals. 

Herbert, the two-time defending Southland Player of the Year, is the active Division-I leader in double-doubles (79 – third most all-time), rebounds (1,386), and rebound average (11.7), and is 5th in points (2,213) and 9th in scoring average (18.8), and 4th in free throws made (635) – one spot ahead of Luper. She needs just 14 rebounds to become only the 10th player in the history of Division I women’s basketball to amass more 2,200 points and 1,400 rebounds in a career. She holds the second-longest double-double streak ever by a Division I player, and was named the 2012-13 Mid-Major Preseason Player of the Year by College Sports Madness.

For the season, Herbert is the Southland’s leading scorer at 19.1 points per game, with Luper just behind in second place at 18.5. Herbert is second in the league in free throw percentage at 82.4 percent, and Luper is third at 81.7. Herbert is the league’s second-leading rebounder at 11.4 per game, and Luper leads the conference in steals at 2.5 per contest. Herbert ranks eighth in field goal percentage at 45.5 percent, while Luper is 10th at 44.6.

The Golden Eagles, who will be celebrating Senior Day at the Mabee Center, also feature the league’s assist leader and top free-throw shooter in senior Jaci Bigham – who is tied with UCA’s Courtney Duever for eighth in scoring at 15.2 points per game in conference games. Duever is the league’s eighth-leading scorer for the season at 14 points per game, and is fourth in rebounding at 8.4. Bigham averages 12.8 points, 6.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game for the season. 

Four Golden Eagles average double-figures scoring in conference play, with 6-foot freshman forward Taylor Cooper averaging 10.4 and 6-3 junior center Sarah Shelton 11.7 to go with a team-best 7.4 rebounds. 

Central Arkansas senior Desiree’ Rogers, who has scored 20 or more twice this season and is the Sugar Bears’ third-leading scorer at 7.9 points per game, enters Tuesday’s game just 24 points shy of 1,000 for her career. 

The Golden Eagles are in their first season under head coach Misti Cussen, who was promoted from the assistant coach position she’d held at ORU the previous 16 seasons after Jerry Finkbeiner accepted the Utah State job.

The Sugar Bears will play their next two on the road as well, traveling to 2nd-place Lamar on Feb. 28 and McNeese State on March 2 before wrapping up their regular season at home on March 9 against ORU.