The Central Arkansas women’s basketball team is set to play two road games in Florida this week, facing the Jacksonville Dolphins on Thursday and North Florida on Saturday. The first game will begin at 5:30 p.m. CT, with the second scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
Central Arkansas enters these matchups with a 9-7 overall record and a 2-2 mark in ASUN conference play. In their most recent outing, the Sugar Bears lost to Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) at home by a score of 64-54. This was only their fourth home defeat since Tony Kemper became head coach, and just the second regular season loss at home during his tenure. Cheyanne Kemp led the team with 13 points, eight rebounds, and a career-high four blocks.
Historically, Central Arkansas has performed well against Jacksonville, winning their last three meetings while scoring over 70 points in each contest. Last season included a sweep of Jacksonville: a 74-63 win at home and a 76-65 victory on the road. Bree Stephens contributed significantly in those games with a total of 12 blocks and became the program’s Division I era leader in career blocks during that stretch.
Against North Florida, Central Arkansas has won all five previous encounters, including four since joining the ASUN Conference. Last year’s games saw Central Arkansas secure victories of 67-53 at home and 72-59 away. In both contests, North Florida was held below 40 percent shooting from the field while Central Arkansas managed at least one quarter with more than 20 points scored.
Jacksonville currently holds a record of 10-5 overall and is also even in conference play at 2-2. Their latest result was a road loss to West Georgia by a score of 74-59. Priscilla Williams recorded double figures in both points (15) and rebounds (16), but Jacksonville struggled from beyond the arc, missing all sixteen three-point attempts.
Williams leads Jacksonville this season with averages of 13.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. She opened her campaign with four consecutive double-doubles, including an effort of 29 points and ten rebounds against Georgia Tech. Williams also tops her team in free throws made with fifty-seven; collectively, Jacksonville has attempted one hundred more free throws than its opponents so far this season.
North Florida comes into Thursday’s matchup holding a record of six wins and nine losses overall (1-3 ASUN). They recently earned their first conference victory by defeating Queens University of Charlotte, outscoring them in both the third and fourth quarters thanks to strong performances from Alonya Waldon (21 points) and Alexa Washington (20 points). Together they combined for forty-one points on eighteen shots.
Waldon leads North Florida with an average of ten points per game; Washington is third on her team averaging nearly nine per contest. Rebounding has been an issue for North Florida throughout this season—they average just over thirty-two boards per game while allowing opponents to collect more than six additional rebounds per contest.
Both upcoming games will be available via streaming on ESPN+, accompanied by live statistics online. Fans can also listen to radio coverage provided by The Bear 91.3 with Steve Owens calling the action.
