Little Rock heads to Conway for latest installment of Governor's I-40 Showdown

Fresh off a win over in-state rival Arkansas State, the women of Little Rock will look to topple another familiar foe from The Natural State when the Trojans (2-5) head to Conway on Saturday for a non-conference bout against Central Arkansas (4-2) in the Governor's I-40 Showdown presented by Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield. Tip-off from the Farris Center is scheduled for 1 pm. The game is available for live streaming on ESPN+ and can also be heard on Sports Animal 920 AM.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Little Rock (2-5) shot a season-high 48.1 percent from the floor (26-of-54) on Tuesday while holding Arkansas State (2-4) to just 31.5 percent on the other end (17-of-54). The Trojans also outscored Arkansas State by 34 points inside the paint (48-14) and rode the tails of Jordan Holman's double-double to their most complete outing of the 2024-25 campaign. Holman led the Trojans with 15 points and pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds, hitting 7-of-11 shots and swiping a pair of steals on the defensive end. Mesi Triplett provided a huge spark off the bench, pumping in a career-best 12 points to go with three rebounds. Faith Lee (11 points) and Emerald Parker (10 points, 6 rebounds) also reached double figures. Alaina Payne came off the bench to add 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 points.
 
SURGING DEFENSE
In each of the last three quarters of Tuesday's win over Arkansas State, the Trojans forced the Red Wolves into extended periods of offensive futility. A-State went a total of six minutes in the second without scoring as the Trojans went ahead 37-25 at the break. The Red Wolves had a drought lasting 4:30 in the third as Little Rock went ahead by as many as 16 before settling for a 51-37 lead going into the final quarter. In the fourth, Arkansas State suffered through a run of three minutes without scoring.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The series has seen the two teams meet a total of 25 times with Central Arkansas holding a hefty 20-5 advantage. The two schools first met in 1978 and faced each other a total of 20 times in from 1978-87. After a 22-year hiatus, the series resumed in 2019 with the creation of the Governor's I-40 Showdown and the teams have met every year from 2019 to present day. Little Rock took three straight meetings from 2019-21, but the Sugar Bears have emerged victorious in 2022 and 2023, with UCA winning last year in Little Rock, 63-58. The Trojans are 1-11 all-time in Conway.
 
CENTRAL ARKANSAS – FIRST LOOK
The Sugar Bears are 3-0 at home this season and already have a win over one Ohio Valley Conference opponent – UT Martin – when UCA toppled the Skyhawks by an 87-67 score on the road. UCA's two losses came on the road to Oklahoma State and No. 12 Kansas State. Jade Upshaw (16.5 ppg) leads a Sugar Bear offense putting up almost 80 point per outing. Kinley Fisher (12.5) and Leah Mafua (10.2) are also averaging double digits in scoring. Central Arkansas puts up shots from long range at a regular pace (27.3 attempts per game) and converts on a high percentage (10.2 per game, 37.2 percent).