CONWAY — As Central Arkansas builds toward the 2017-18 season and another Southland Conference tournament championship, they'll do so having another player with experience playing for one.

The Sugar Bears welcome a familiar face to the fold as head coach Sandra Rushing has announced the signing of former Little Rock Central star Kamry Orr, who began her collegiate career at Southland rival Sam Houston State two years ago before transferring to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M this past season.

Orr was a member of the Bearkat team that faced the Sugar Bears for the 2016 Southland tournament championship, a game the Sugar Bears won 69-62 en route to the first of their back-to-back tournament titles and NCAA Tournament berths.

In that game, Orr scored 14 points with 3 assists, 2 steals and a rebound in 28 minutes to close out a freshman campaign in which she was the Bearkats' third-leading scorer and was second in assists and fourth in rebounding. She would average 8.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 steals in 25.8 minutes per game, shooting 40.4 percent overall and 34.6 percent from 3-point range while scoring in double figures in 11 games with a season high of 19 against Houston Baptist – a game in which she also recorded a season-high 12 assists. During the Bearkats' run through the Southland tournament, Orr averaged 13.3 points in the four games.

"We are so excited to have Kamry back in Arkansas joining our program," said Rushing, who has added three homegrown products thus far in this year's class as Orr joins El Dorado's Mekaylan Hicks and Conway's Savannah Lowe in addition to Coffeyville transfer Alanie Fisher. "Kamry will add much-needed experience to our backcourt this season. She's an exception floor leader and has great knowledge of the game. She has the ability to get to the basket and knows how to create open shots for her teammates. And she can play both ends of the floor – she's great on the defensive end and has a tremendous work ethic and passion for the game. She's been through it in the Southland Conference and knows what it takes to win in this league, and we're happy to have her on our side." 

This season, Orr was selected to the all-Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference and all-Region II teams while leading her NEO squad to a 28-3 record, Region II championship and NJCAA national tournament berth. She averaged 12.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.5 steals, shooting 47.3 percent, 34.7 percent from 3-point range, and 78.3 percent from the free throw line. She scored in double figures 23 times, including a high of 30.

In high school, Orr led Little Rock Central to a 24-4 record during her senior season and earned 7A all-state and all-conference honors. She played in the Arkansas Metro All-Star game and was a McDonald's Full Court award winner. She was ranked a 3-star prospect by ESPN and Prospects Nation.
