Sandra Rushing entered her team's locker room Jan. 2 with a simple message: "This may have been the best thing that could have happened."
Rushing's Central Arkansas women's basketball team had just lost its Southland Conference opener, 61-49, to Abilene Christian, which followed a 10-1 nonconference finish.
Rushing's team has responded just fine from the loss, just like she thought it might, winning three consecutive games heading into tonight's game against Houston Baptist in Conway. The loss, Rushing said, could have resulted from overconfidence gained during a nonconference season that included plenty of victories but frequent tests against non-Division I teams.