Sugar Bears open with tradition-rich La. Tech

The Matt Daniel era and the 2008-09 basketball season officially begin for the University of Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. today as the Sugar Bears open up the year on the road at one of the nation's most storied programs in Louisiana Tech.

They'll also be going against one of the top players in Conway High history.

The Lady Techsters boast the highest winning percentage in the history of women's college basketball with an all-time record of 932-182 (.837) and trail only Tennessee in all-time wins.

With three national titles, eight championship game appearances and 13 Final Fours to their credit, the Lady Techsters (16-15 last season) have put together 34 consecutive winning seasons and have had 28 seasons of 20 or more wins and 17 of those times have won 30 or more. Their 65 NCAA Tournament wins are the third most of any program, trailing only Tennessee and UConn.

With a 452-38 all-time record in Ruston, the Lady Techsters have won more than 92 percent of their home games in program's history.

Sidney Stewart, a former all-stater at both Greenbrier and Conway High and a former MVP on the Log Cabin Democrat's All Faulkner County team, is coming off an injury-plagued first season with the Lady Techsters. Stewart averaged 4.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 20 games last year after missing the first part of the season due to injury but is healthy to begin the season and led the team in scoring with 16 in an exhibition.

Though its had great success throughout its history, Louisiana Tech is coming off a subpar season by its lofty standards having finished 16-15 overall and 9-7 in Western Athletic Conference play. The Sugar Bears can relate, looking to bounce back after a 7-22 showing in 2007-08 their first losing season in 28 years.

"They've got good experience on their bench both with their coaching staff and their player personnel," Daniel said of the Lady Techsters, who are coached by Chris Long and recently hired former Techster and WNBA star Teresa Weatherspoon as associate head coach. "Their program is continuing to grow and they're getting that thing back to the prominence it once was."

Three starters return for the Techsters, including a pair of preseason all-WAC selections in junior forward Shanavia Dowdell and sophomore guard Tarkeisha Wysinger. Dowdell averaged 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and Wysinger led the team in steals with 67 a year ago.

"It's going to be a real tough test for us, and that's no secret," Daniel said. "We know that going in. We're not going to walk in and be surprised by the level of play. We're aware of what it's going to take to go in there and compete, and hopefully we can execute the game plan we've been putting into place."

The Sugar Bears had one exhibition game in the preseason, a 70-55 win over Hendrix College on Nov. 6, which was the first game for much of the team, which features five freshmen and a sophomore transfer to go with three returning sophomores, three juniors and two seniors.

In that game, UCA was led in scoring by a sophomore (Laura Beth Anderson 15), in rebounding by a sophomore (Megan Moss 8), and in assists and minutes by a freshman (Destinee Rogers 7 and 32).

"We're getting better," he said. "It's hard to measure, but you can see them grow in every drill and every possession, and as a coach that's what you want to see your team do. We're doing better than last week, and that comes from repetition. It's going to be a roller coaster with such an underclassmen-laden team.

"It's going to be a tough game on Friday and we're going to be tested early. But that's what non-conference is all about for us trying to prepare us for conference play. We're going to play hard, play smart and play together, and we'll let the chips fall where they may."

In addition to the UCA radio broadcast on 91.3 FM The Bear and on www.UCAsports.com, the game will be available on a pay-per-view basis at www.LaTechTV.com.