Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Exhibition play
Arkansas women defeat Pittsburg State easily, 97-63.
FAYETTEVILLE — If Thursday night’s exhibition was any indication, the Southeastern Conference will have its hands full guarding Amber Ramirez and Chelsea
Dungee this year.
The pair combined for 49 points as Arkansas easily cruised past Pittsburg State 97-63 in front of an announced crowd of 1,390 at Bud Walton Arena in an exhibition game.
“We got what we wanted out of it,” Arkansas women’s basketball coach Mike Neighbors said. “Pittsburg State is a tremendous team and they’re going to win a lot of games. I’m just happy that we came out and played as well as we did. We only turned it over seven times and scored 97.”
Dungee, who was named preseason first-team all-SEC, led the Razorbacks with 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting.
“It was good to get back out there in a game situation and see where we were at with our playbook and get
some looks,” Dungee said. “I feel good about where we are at.”
Ramirez, a transfer from TCU, secured the opening tip and actually started running toward the Pittsburg State basket before quickly realizing her mistake and reversed course.
“I was so excited to get going, I guess it was just first-game jitters,” Ramirez said. “I haven’t played a full game in about a year and a half. Last year was hard sitting out but it was so fun to get back out there on the court and especially to play with Chelsea again.”
Dungee was appreciative of her teammate’s efforts, as the two once played together on the prep circuit on an AAU team based out of San Antonio.
“Amber is a great shooter, she really takes the pressure off me when she’s out there with her ability to score and handle the ball,” Dungee said. “It’s been a while since we’ve gotten to play with one another.”
Makayla Daniels added 17 points and Alexis Tolefree chipped in 13 for the Razorbacks, as Neighbors played every healthy player on the roster.
“It was good to get our young players some looks at the end,” Neighbors said. “It’s way different when it’s practice speed versus game speed, I don’t care what level of basketball you’re at. I liked what I saw out of them.”
Pittsburg State has a quick turnaround, as the Gorillas take on Kansas on Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse before opening the season with Oklahoma Baptist.
“We were very appreciative of the opportunity to come down here and play in a venue like this and find out more about ourselves,”
Pittsburg State coach Amanda Davies said. “Arkansas is a very good team and they shoot the basketball extremely well. They will be a tough out for anyone.”
Shania Wilson, a freshman guard for the Gorillas, played at Bentonville West last year. She got in at the very end of the contest and committed a foul.
A’Tyanna Gaulden has been nursing an injury and was held out of the game by Neighbors, but he expects her to be ready in time for the season opener on Nov. 8 against New Orleans.
“We didn’t want or feel the need to rush her back,” Neighbors said. “She’s doing fine and we expect her to be ready to go for that Elementary Day game.”
Pittsburg State ..... 6 20 24 13 — 63 Arkansas .......... 21 25 26 25 — 97 Pittsburg State: Alvarado 21, Williams 17, DaMitz 7, Crain 6, Johnson 4, Maher 3, Davis 3, Rubert 2. Arkansas: Dungee 26, Ramirez 23, Daniels 17, Tolefree 13, Thomas 6, Williams 4, Davis 4, Oberg 4. 3-point FG—Pittsburg State 5-22 (Crain 2), Arkansas 10-26 (Ramirez 5). Assists—Pittsburg State 14 (DaMitz 5), Arkansas 9 (Ramirez 4). Steals—Pittsburg State 4 (DaMitz 2), Arkansas 11 (Daniels 4). Blocked shots—Pittsburg State 1 (Johnson 1), Arkansas 4 (Williams 2). Turnovers—Pittsburg State 17 (DaMitz 5), Arkansas 7 (Daniels 2, Davis 2). Technical Fouls: None. Fouled out: None. Officials: Bryan Enterline, Amy Bonner, Bianca Burns. Attendance: 1,390.