CONWAY — Central Arkansas senior forward Megan Herbert just wanted to get her first field goal out of the way Saturday afternoon.
Herbert entered the game against Northwestern (La.) State just two points shy of 2,000 for her career, and she took just 13 seconds to reach the milestone in the Sugar Bears’ 60-44 victory at the Farris Center.
Herbert scored on a layup with 19:47 remaining in the first half to become the 133rd player in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history to record 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
The senior forward is only the second active Division I player to record 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, joining Baylor All-American center Brittney Griner. Griner, a 6-8 senior, has 2,708 points and 1,074 career rebounds entering today’s game at Kansas.
“It’s crazy, it really is,” said the 5-11 Herbert, who has 2,020 points and 1,263 rebounds. “I’m at UCA. We’re a smaller school. Not many people look at us. I’m a smaller post.
“To be able to do that shows the work that I’ve put in, my teammates have put in and the coaches have put in and how we’ve built this program up the past four years.”
UCA Coach Sandra Rushing said the Sugar Bears wanted to get the ball to Herbert early and move on with Saturday’s Southland Conference game.
“She’s such a humble person. She really did not want to stop the game to break the momentum,” Rushing said. “It is a milestone. That is major for any player to accomplish.”
The former Shiloh Christian standout finished with 22 points and eight rebounds as UCA (11-4) won its fifth consecutive game. At 4-0, the Sugar Bears lead the Southland Conference standings.
Northwestern State cut the Sugar Bears’ lead to 20-18 with 4:31 remaining in the first half, but UCA finished the half by outscoring Northwestern State 11-0 for a 31-18 advantage. Sophomore reserve guard Kelcia Bufkin began the run with a jumper and Herbert followed with a layup. Junior forward Courtney Duever scored the final seven points of the half, including a three-pointer.
“Our bench jumped in and did a tremendous job,” Rushing said. “I liked the group that was out there.”
In the second half, the Sugar Bears’ largest lead was 52-28 with 13:07 left.
Duever had 19 points, including 3 three-pointers. Senior forward Desiree Rogers added nine points as UCA shot 50 percent (22 of 44) from the floor and forced 24 turnovers.
Jasmine Bradley led Northwestern State (5-10, 1-4) with 10 points and seven rebounds.
UCA, the defending conference regular-season champion, heads back out on the road next week to face Sam Houston State on Thursday and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday.
“We’re starting to click a little bit,” Herbert said. “That’s always good. That’s always good to see, but we’ve got a long ways to go.”
SOUTHLAND MEN NW (LA.) STATE 100, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 88
CONWAY - Central Arkansas’ men couldn’t hold the Southland Conference’s top scoring team in check and now find themselves in an 0-4 hole in the conference standings.
The Bears fell 100-88 Northwestern (La.) State on Saturday afternoon in front of an announced crowd of 1,172 at the Farris Center.
It is the Bears’ second 0-4 start in the Southland under Coach Corliss Williamson in three seasons. UCA (5-9) started 0-5 in the Southland in 2010-2011 and 0-2 last season.
With the Bears traveling to Sam Houston State on Thursday and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, Williamson said he knows the road trip will be crucial for UCA.
“Getting down 0-4, you can get your head down and feel sorry for yourself,” Williamson said. “But we’ve got some games coming up that we feel like we match up well against. We’ve got four in a row at home after that. If we stay positive, our schedule works in our favor where we have some games where we can compete and have a chance to win.”
Northwestern State (10-5, 4-1) entered Saturday averaging a conference best 83.1 points per game. While they were sixth in three-point percentage at 28.9 percent, the Demons made 12 of 21 three-pointers against the Bears on Saturday.
Six Demons scored at least 10 points, with Gary Stewart leading the way with 19 points, including 5 three-pointers. James Hulbin had 17 points and Gary Roberson added 13.
“Our styles are similar, so a lot of times when you play people with the same styles, it boils down to our guys making shots,” Demons Coach Mike McConathy said. “We were attacking the bucket.”
Robert Crawford’s jumper pulled UCA - which trailed 34-14 in the first half - within 49-44 with 18:04 left. But that was as close as the Bears would get.
After Jarvis Garner’s two free throws cut the lead to 60-54, Stewart hit three consecutive three-pointers to push the Demons’ advantage to 69-58.
“It was a huge part of the game for Stewart to knock down those shots,” McConathy said. “He did a nice job there. They were running the zone.
Crawford had a game-high 22 points for UCA. LaQuentin Miles had 21 points and Garner added 18.
- Jeremy Muck
SWAC MEN SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY 84, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 50
Derick Beltran scored a game-high 22 points and Malcolm Miller added 21 as Southern University defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Baton Rouge for the Golden Lions’ first conference loss of the season.
Terrell Kennedy scored 18 points to lead UAPB, and Davon Haynes added 11 points. UAPB shot just 30.4 percent from the field and was held 20 points below its season average in conference play.
Elite company
Central Arkansas senior forward Megan Herbert became the 133rd NCAA Division I player to record 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds during Saturday’s game against Northwestern (La.) State. Herbert joined Baylor All-American center Brittney Griner as the only active D-I players to achieve the feat. Here are Griner and Herbert’s statistics through Saturday:
PLAYER POINTS/REBS.
Brittney Griner 2,708/1,074
Megan Herbert 2,020/1,263
SOURCES Baylor/Central Arkansas RESEARCH Jeremy Muck, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Sports, Pages 28 on 01/13/2013