No. 13 Arkansas travels to SMU
FAYETTEVILLE — Attention to detail goes far beyond just a game plan for University of Arkansas women’s basketball coach Mike Neighbors during a pandemic.
The second road trip of the season for the No. 13 Razorbacks has Neighbors focused as much on seating charts to minimize possible contact tracing along with the 0-3 SMU Mustangs, who they take on tonight at 7 in Moody Coliseum.
Arkansas (5-1) will travel the day of the game to Dallas and take what Neighbors called a “skeleton crew” on the flight.
“We’re trying some unique things to be as covid sensitive as we can,” Neighbors said. “Consistently moving seats on the plane and the bus to not get that magical number of 15 minutes together. The plane’s big enough we should be OK. The bus creates some problems.
“There’s a lot of new firsts for us in this. Knowing what I know about our leadership in the locker room, I think we’ll be OK.”
He’s paying attention to things like not getting on an elevator in groups, not getting their bags at the same time or even walking into a hotel together to minimize that close contact. But Neighbors is paying attention to those minute details for the times like Sunday’s big win over defending national champion Baylor that beg for some celebration.
“We do all those things so that dammit when I want to go hug a kid, I’m gonna go hug her,” Neighbors said. “Because we have a big celebration, because the other times of the day we are apart.
“We’re still learning, but it’s part of the necessity for us to make sure our kids are A, staying safe, and still being able to compete. Because they want to do both. They don’t want an either or. We have to worry about that so they don’t have to.”
He acknowledged how his team reacts following the big win is on his mind as well.
“It’s a really good test for us to enter some uncharted waters,” Neighbors said. “How do we handle that next game after the big game? We haven’t had that.”
SMU, which lost at 75- 63 Oklahoma State on Monday, does have some size, which always presents a challenge for the Razorbacks, Neighbors said.
“They got a style that can give us some fits,” Neighbors said. “They play high-low and throw it inside. They try to guard the perimeter and take away the three. There are a lot of concerns and when you couple those with everything we just talked about they magnify.”
One reason the game was scheduled was to allow senior Taylah Thomas to play in her hometown. But it was initially scrapped when the start of the season was pushed back because of the pandemic. However, Neighbors was happy to get to surprise Thomas a second time when the game was rescheduled.
“She’s excited, her family’s excited,” Neighbors said. “She’s got high school teammates in the area that are really excited for her to be there. Again, a chance to literally play in your hometown and not just in and around.”
The Razorbacks have a reputation for shooting lots of 3-pointers, but they pulled off a big win on Sunday making just 5 of 20 3-point shots. The key was aggressively driving to the basket and drawing fouls.
Arkansas made 30 of 39 free throws in the win, compared to Baylor going just 12 of 18. The Razorbacks were better than the Lady Bears in the fourth quarter alone, making 14 of 18. It’s not just a one-time thing either. The Razorbacks lead the country in free throws made (146) and attempted (198).
Arkansas has two players among the top five in the country in those categories. Redshirt junior Chelsea Dungee, who leads the team averaging 19.0 points per game. But the 5-11 guard is the best in the country at getting to the foul line. She leads Division I in free throws attempted (59) and makes (45). But she’s got company.
Sophomore Makayla Daniels is tied for fourth in both categories with 33 made in 37 attempts. Teammate Erynn Barnum is actually sixth (33 attempts) and she doesn’t even start.