The win for the Sugar Bears gives them a 21-8 record overall on the season and a 11-5 record in Southland Conference play.

The Sugar Bears 2009-2010 season proved to be the biggest single-season turnaround in Southland Conference history. The Sugar Bears were a disastrous 6-23 last season. The Sugar Bears turnaround was the biggest one in the nation this season and the biggest NCAA Division I turnaround since 2004. Overall, it’s the eighth-biggest turnaround in Division I women’s basketball history.

Megan Herbert

Freshman center Megan Herbert led the Sugar Bears with 19 points. Freshman forward Westin Taylor scored 18 points, all from three-point range. Taylor also led the team with nine rebounds. Freshman guard Micah Rice and sophomore guard Nakeia Guiden also scored in double-digits for the Sugar Bears. Rice had 14 points, with 10 of those coming from the free-throw line. Guiden scored 11 points.

Four Cowgirls also scored in double-digits. Sophomore forward Kendra Wells led the Cowgirls and all scorers with 28 points.  Sophomore guard Raiyawna Gatlin scored 14 points.  Sophomore forward Ja’Niqua Kendrix scored 13 points off the bench for the Cowgirls. Sophomore guard Candace LaCombre also added 12 points for the Cowgirls.

Coach Doug Clark said that the Southland Conference is a very tough conference. “Recently, Texas State has been really good and so has Sam Houston State,” Clark said. “UTSA is always tough, especially at their field, but fortunately we are playing them here this year.”

Clark said he felt the team has played well and hung in during some tough losses last season but thinks things will be different this year. “I feel with our pitching and our mental toughness we are going to compete this year,” he said.

For the Bears, pitching is going to be a key aspect to the team’s game plan, Clark said. “Our first year of Division 1 play, we maybe had three arms. Now, we have a whole arsenal,” Clark said. “We just have a lot more options now, especially a lot of left-handed pitchers.”

For this season, Clark said that there are five different players that are competing for the top pitching spots in the rotation: Sophomore Logan Ariola, senior Bobby Pritchett, junior Chase Huchingson, senior Michael Wild and junior Reece Cross.

“We will be as good as our bull pen,” Clark said. “Just like any other college team, or any team for that matter, we will be just as good as our bull pen.”

Along with focusing on developing a better offense and pitching, Clark said that he has been building up the team’s toughness as well. “Since the fall, we have started doing more early morning exercises, and we have started doing more conditioning, weight lifting and toughness training.”

Clark said that the team has had to make a lot of sacrifices this year. “To be honest I thought someone would have quit by now, but no one has,” he said. One of the reasons for building up the team’s overall toughness is because of last season’s 11 one-run losses, Clark said. “In baseball, there are reasons why you lose those closer games which is why we have tried to become a tougher team.”

The Bear's full schedule can be found here. The player roster is here.

2010 UCA Baseball Team