It has been almost a month since the Arkansas-Pine Bluff women’s basketball team has played a home game.
On Saturday against Southern in a Southwestern Athletic Conference game, the Lady Lions will play just their second home game of the year.
“It’s always good to play at home and in front of your own fans,” Lady Lions junior forward Chi Chi Okwumabua said. “We are pretty excited. We have been on the road in a while.
“Hopefully we have the home court advantage. Playing on the road can get frustrating at times.”
The Lady Lions are 0-14 on the year and 0-3 in the SWAC. Southern is 4-7 overall and 3-1 in the SWAC.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Lady Jaguars come into the game with the reigning SWAC player of the week as Kendra Coleman averaged 20 points and 2.5 steals in two games last week to earn the honor. Coleman scored 34 points in Southern’s win over Grambling State.
The last time the UAPB women were at home was Dec. 18 against Arizona, and the Lady Lions lost 67-37. But UAPB is coming off its closest game of the year, losing 66-58 at Alabama State on Monday.
UAPB went on a 17-0 run to get back in the game, and Lady Lions coach Cary Shelton said that gave the team some momentum.
“That gave them some energy and proved hard work pays off,” he said. “Why we had to wait the last four minutes to do that … we missed some opportunities in that game and hopefully we can take advantage at home.”
Okwumabua said that run gives the team confidence going into Saturday’s contest.
“It shows us that we can play, and it starts on defense,” she said. “If we play like we play the last three minutes like we did in the Alabama State game, we should come out with a win.”