Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
No. 13 Arkansas coasts past UCA
FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Central Arkansas started as frigid shooting the basketball inside Walton Arena as the weather outside on Sunday afternoon.
The Sugar Bears didn’t make a field goal in the first quarter, while Amber Ramirez and Destiny Slocum both matched UCA’s team total of 12 in the first half as snow fell outside.
No. 13 Arkansas (7-1) applied a quick knockout punch en route to a 105-58 victory in just the second meeting between the in-state schools and the first since 1978.
Senior Chelsea Dungee of Sapulpa, Okla., led four Arkansas players in double figures with a game-high 26 points in 21 minutes, including 15 points in the third quarter alone.
The 5-11 guard may not be from Arkansas, but she said she understands what it means to face an in-state opponent and thought the University of Arkansas handled its business well.
“In-state schools, there’s always that rival, always that tension,” Dungee said. “So we wanted to come out with energy realizing that the target
is on our back. I thought we did a great job with that. I thought we did a great job of sharing the ball, shooting in rhythm, just working on the things we need to work on and preparing ourselves for the SEC.”
The Razorbacks held UCA (1-4) without a field goal for more than a quarter, as the Sugar Bears missed their first 14 shots from the floor and trailed 24-2 after a quarter. Jayla Cody’s basket nine seconds into the second quarter finally broke that drought for UCA.
Arkansas made 11 of its first 16 shots and continued to pour it on, leading 54-12 at halftime. Destinee McGhee’s inside basket with 1:41 left in the fourth quarter sent Arkansas over the century mark for the second time this season.
Slocum added 22 points and Ramirez had 14, while redshirt senior Jailyn Mason added 16 off the bench for Arkansas.
Jalisa Outlaw led UCA with 22 points, all in the second half. Charlay Conway added 10.
Arkansas Coach Mike Neighbors said he was pleased with how his team played, particularly since the team had what he termed as, “the worst practice we’ve had in four years yesterday.”
“Very little focus, very little energy, very little attention to detail,” Neighbors said. “There’s a lot of reasons that can be the cause. We’re headed into finals, and we’re still riding emotional wins. Things like that, but those are all excuses.
“I thought they responded really well, so proud of them for that. Not proud about the practice and the habits, but we’ll get that fixed between now and when we’ve gotta go play at UALR.”
The Razorbacks took advantage of the Sugar Bears’ mistakes, scoring 35 points off 23 UCA turnovers. They also shot 54% (40 of 74) from the floor, including 12 of 24 (50%) from three-point range.
Neighbors said not everyone understands how unusual playing an in-state opponent is for Arkansas. But it was discussed, he said. The fact the men also played UCA on Saturday helped, he added.
“A lot of those kids come and watch and they saw how much it means,” Neighbors said. “Not everyone understands it, grasps it, feels it like us old- timers do that this game is not normal to play in-season, really ever but specifically in-season. I think they appreciated it.”
Dungee is looking forward to what lies ahead for the Razorbacks, who are off to a strong start.
“I want to see us against better competition to see how we handle that,” Dungee said. “I think we’ve only had a couple of those games, and I’m excited to see these next few weeks and months ahead.”
Arkansas won’t play again until Saturday when the Razorbacks take to the road to face the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Tip-off time at the Jack Stephens Center is slated for 2 p.m. Arkansas will finish nonconference play by hosting the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on Dec. 21. Tip-off time has not yet been announced for that game.