GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Arkansas women’s basketball team (21-11) never wavered to Missouri (17-13) to earn their 10th straight win over the Tigers with an 85-74 victory in the opening round of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament. Arkansas trailed by as many as 11 with 51 seconds in the third quarter, but the Razorbacks charged on a 16-0 run in the fourth quarter to outscore the Tigers 29-10 in the fourth quarter. Chrissy Carr went off for a career-high 34 points off 11-of-14 shooting from the field. The win marks the eighth SEC Tournament victory in the Mike Neighbors era in just six years. Arkansas is set for a rematch with No. 1 South Carolina for a quarterfinal matchup at 11 a.m. CT.
Carr wasted no time, burying a 3-pointer on Arkansas’ first possession. Missouri went on a 5-0 run to retake the lead, but Arkansas quickly took it back with a Samara Spencer jumper. The Tigers went back up on their next possession, but Spencer found an open Erynn Barnum beneath the basket for a layup. After another Carr triple, Missouri called a timeout with Arkansas ahead, 11-7, with 5:48 left in the first quarter. Saylor Poffenbarger came up with a block on the defensive end to set up the Razorbacks on the other side for a Makayla Daniels 3-pointer. The Tigers closed out the final three minutes of the quarter with a 12-4 run to retake the lead just before the end of the quarter. Missouri led 21-20 after the first quarter.
The Tigers hit a 3-pointer to take Missouri back up by two, but Arkansas came up with big stops on defense, which set up the Razorbacks in transition to make big shots. Arkansas went on an 8-0 run with big thanks to Carr knocking down two 3-pointers. Missouri took a timeout, as Arkansas led 30-24 with 7:00 minutes left in the quarter. Missouri broke its three-minute scoring drought with a 3-pointer, but Spencer responded with a layup. The Tigers climbed back in to tie up the game at 32 with a 3-pointer and then retook the lead after knocking down another triple. Missouri hit their eighth 3-pointer on the game, but Spencer responded by knocking down one of her own, and then Carr drove to the basket for a layup. The Tigers retook the lead again, but the Razorbacks made the most of their final possession, as Spencer made a layup with six seconds left in the half. Arkansas had the 41-40 advantage at the break.
Missouri went back ahead off two free throws, but Carr continued to be hot with a jumper. Arkansas was cold from the field for over four minutes until Carr came up with another jumper. The Tigers went up by four, but Saylor Poffenbarger scored two baskets to tie the game at 53 with less than five to play. Missouri then went on a 5-0 run, as Arkansas called a timeout, finding themselves down 58-53, with 3:47 left in the quarter. The Tigers continued their run, extending to an 11-0 one, while Arkansas was in a scoring drought for over three minutes. Carr dug the Razorbacks out of the hole with a 3-pointer to extend her point total to 29, as Arkansas trailed 64-56 going into the final quarter.
Rylee Langerman knocked down a 3-pointer, which looked to be a big difference maker in the game, and Poffenbarger followed with a jumper to cut the lead to three. Missouri then capitalized on the other end with a 3-pointer to take a 67-61 lead. Arkansas was called for charges on back-to-back possessions, but Carr buried her sixth 3-pointer of the game, which would start a 16-0 run for Arkansas. Makayla Daniels burried a 3-pointer out of the timeout to tie the game at 67. The Razorbacks retook the lead for the first time in the quarter off a Spencer and-1. Spencer missed the free throw, but Poffenbarger grabbed the rebound to kick it out to Daniels for a triple. The Razorbacks kept rolling, making five of their 12 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, while holding Missouri scoreless for over five minutes. The Razorbacks closed out the game with shooting 10-for-12 from the line down the stretch. In a game with 16 lead changes and seven ties, Arkansas pulled out the 85-74 win to live another day in the SEC Tournament.
HOG HIGHLIGHTS
- Arkansas’ win marked the eighth SEC Tournament victory in the Neighbors era in six years, which ties Gary Blair for the most SEC Tournament wins as a Razorback head coach who took 10 years to get there
- The win marks the 10th straight over Missouri
- Carr delivered 22 of her career-high 34 points in the first half off an efficient 11-of-14 from the field and 6-of-8 from 3-point, which is a new career-high. She added three boards and played 36 minutes
- Spencer got it done on all areas of the floor with 19 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks
- Daniels showed incredible toughness in the second half after missing most of the first, finishing with 17 points, three big 3-pointers and 8-of-8 shooting from the free throw line. She also had three assists and two steals
- Poffenbarger logged six points, 11 rebounds, five assists and one block
- Langerman finished with three points, four rebounds, two steals and a 15 +/-
- Maryam Dauda pulled down a career-high five offensive rebounds and had three assists and two blocks
- Barnum got in foul trouble early and only played 15.5 minutes, but finished with four points and a 18 +/-
UP NEXT
The Razorbacks will take on a rematch with No. 1 South Carolina tomorrow at 11 a.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.
Note to Our Readers: The previous story was sourced directly and in its entirety from the University of Arkansas Office of Communications, Kylie Magar.
