SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word women's basketball team looks to rediscover the winning feeling at home when the Cardinals host the Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions Wednesday evening at the McDermott Center, 6:30 p.m. (CT) tip.
 
This will be the first home game of February for UIW after falling on the road in its two prior contests this month. The Cardinals were victorious in their last home appearance, besting New Orleans 81-69 on January 26.

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A STARR IS BORN

• Since the start of conference play, freshman forward Starr Omozee has emerged as a key contributor for UIW.
• Omozee tallied 18 points and nine rebounds in two straight games earlier this season (at HBU, 1/30/19 and at UNO, 2/2/19), raising her conference averages to 11.2 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in an average of 27.4 minutes in conference games.
• Her 6.9 rebounds per game is 11th best in the conference, tops among freshmen.
• While not a high volume outside shooter, she chooses her deep shots well, hitting six of her 14 attempts in SLC games (.429).
• She leads the team with 132 rebounds this season, 11th best in the SLC, best among freshman.
• After securing three double-doubles in her first six games as a Cardinal, Omozee set the UIW DI freshman record for most double-doubles in a single season when she delivered her fourth of the season against Lamar (11 points and 10 rebounds) on Jan. 23, 2019.
• Against GCU (11/9/18), she posted 11 points and 15 rebounds, becoming the first freshman besides Robinson (2016) to record a double-double in UIW DI history.
• She set multiple season-highs in her first game at the McDermott Center (vs. Houston, 11/16/18), scoring her second double-double (19 pts, 10 rebs) and making multiple threes in a game for the first time.
• Just two games later, she hung 10 points and 11 rebounds on Weber State (11/21).

 
RAY OF LIGHT

• Freshman guard Macy Ray has established herself as the driving force of the team through 11 starts.
• After assuming the role of starting point guard against Rice (Dec. 29, 2018), Ray is averaging 28.1 minutes, often with the task of shutting down the top scoring opposing guard.
• On Jan. 19, she held the SFA point guard to 0-4 from the field, she was shooting .462 percent from the field in conference games heading into play.
• She has found her stroke on the outside in recent games, averaging 7.5 points per game over her last six contests, thanks to some deadly accuracy from beyond the arc. In that time, she is 10-27 from deep (37.0 percent).
• Her 21 points against New Orleans (1/26/19) stands as the most points scored by a UIW freshman since Feb. 22, 2017 (Robinson, 23 points, vs. Nicholls).

 
SPEERHEADING THE OFFENSE

• Sophomore guard Kara Speer has turned a corner in conference play.
• After averaging 2.8 points per game in non-conference, Speer has taken her game to a new level. She's third on the team in scoring (7.0 ppg) since the start of SLC play. Providing a much-needed supplemental threat for the offense.
• She leads the team in conference games with a .900 shooting percentage from the line (18-20).
• Speer isn't just a threat at the line, her three-point shooting has improved tremendously in recent weeks. Over her last six games, she is shooting 44.4 percent from three (8-18) including a season high three made at New Orleans (2/2/19).
• She led the team in points for the first time this season with 13 points against SFA (Jan. 19).
• Her effort is felt in the paint as well, where she battled for seven points and a career-high seven rebounds against HBU (Jan. 30).
• She leads the Cardinals backcourt in shooting in conference play, having made 21 of her 50 shots from the field (.420 percent).
• Has shot .500 or better from the field in six of her last nine games played.

 
 
SCOUTING SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA

• SLU enters play in possession of the coveted eighth spot in the conference. They are 4-7 in conference play, currently good enough to qualify for the conference tournament in March.
• The Lady Lions are coming off a 33-75 road loss at the hands of Central Arkansas on Saturday.
• They are led by junior guard Celica Sterling and her 15.4 points per game, the fourth best offensive threat in the conference this season.
• SLU has lost eight consecutive road games this season, including an 0-5 mark on conference play.
• This is the first and only meeting of the season between UIW and SLU. The Cardinals lead the all-time series, 4-2.

 
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