Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Arkansas women fall flat late
NO. 11 KENTUCKY 84, ARKANSAS 72
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Arkansas women’s team picked the wrong time to go cold Thursday night against No. 11 Kentucky.
Arkansas failed to make a field goal over the final 8 :26 as Kentucky put together a late surge to hold off the Razorbacks 84-72 in front of 5,002 at Memorial Coliseum.
Forward Ashley Daniels’ layup pulled Arkansas within 64-58, but that was the last field goal by the Razorbacks as Kentucky (13-2, 2-0 SEC) outscored them 20-14 the rest of the way.
It was a tough finish for Arkansas (11-3, 0-2), which had fought back from a 15point deficit in the first half and led 46-44 with 16:18 left in the game.
“Kentucky is a team of runs,” Arkansas Coach Tom Collen said. “When they put a run on you and get it going their way, and the crowd gets into the game, it’s really hard to fight through. We’ve got to learn to deal with that.
“For the most part I feel like we didn’t quit. To come in and play a top-10 team in the country on their floor and have a chance to win is a pretty good effort for us.”
Guard A’dia Mathies had 21 points and six rebounds for Kentucky. Mathies scored 14 points in the opening eight minutes of the game before cooling off and missing her next eight shots over a 20minute span as Arkansas worked its way back into the game.
Daniels scored a careerhigh 22 points and had eight rebounds to lead Arkansas. Guard C’eira Ricketts had 21 points and sophomore Dominique Robinson added 16 for the Razorbacks, but the Wildcats held Sarah Watkins, a preseason ALL-SEC secondteam selection, to just one point on 0 of 13 shooting from the field.
“That is a difficult game for us to play, especially after getting off to a great start and then it going south,” Kentucky Coach Matthew Mitchell said. “They found the toughness to get back after that lull we were in, and I am really, really pleased. That is a great victory for us.”
Kentucky started fast and took a 27-12 lead on Keyla Snowden’s jumper with 9:32 left in the first half.
The Wildcats are known for their press and for pushing the pace on offense, but they seemed content to drop back into a half-court game near the 10:00 mark, which enabled the Razorbacks to get back in the game.
Behind Ricketts and Daniels, Arkansas closed the first half with a 21-10 run and trailed only 40-36 going into halftime.
Arkansas came out strong in the second half and took a 46-44 lead on a three-pointer by Robinson at the 16:18 mark. The Razorbacks led by as many as four points before Kentucky put together a 7-0 run for a 62-56 advantage.
Arkansas’ offense went cold from there, and the Razorbacks were never closer than four points the rest of the way.
Arkansas’ final 14 points came from the free- throw line, where the Razorbacks were 22 of 34 for the game.
ARKANSAS (11-3) Daniels 8-14 6-6 22, Robinson 4-10 7-14 16, Watkins 0-13 1-2 1, Berna 0-1 3-4 3, Ricketts 7-13 5-8 21, Gatling 2-3 0-0 5, Williams 1-3 0-0 2, Harris 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 23-59 22-34 72. KENTUCKY (13-2) Walker 1-4 0-0 2, Evans 0-3 8-8 8, Mathies 8-18 0-2 21, Goss 4-4 0-0 11, Smith 1-4 2-2 4, Riley 0-0 0-0 0, Snowden 2-5 5-6 9, Pinkett 3-7 0-0 8, Conwright 2-5 0-0 4, Drake 0-1 0-0 0, Henderson 2-2 2-2 6, Bishop 5-10 0-1 11. Totals 28-63 17-21 84.
Halftime— Kentucky 40-36. 3-Point Goals— Arkansas 4-8 (Ricketts 2-2, Gatling 1-1, Robinson 1-2, Berna 0-1, Watkins 0-1, Harris 0-1), Kentucky 11-23 (Mathies 5-9, Goss 3-3, Pinkett 2-4, Bishop 1-1, Evans 0-1, Smith 0-2, Snowden 0-3). Fouled Out— Bishop. Rebounds— Arkansas 36 (Daniels 8), Kentucky 39 (Bishop 8). Assists— Arkansas 7 (Berna 3), Kentucky 18 (Mathies 6). Total Fouls— Arkansas 15, Kentucky
25. Technical— Robinson. Attendance— 5,002.