FAYETTEVILLE — At least one losing streak will be snapped Sunday at Bud Walton Arena, and the Arkansas women’s basketball team hopes it won’t be two.
Arkansas (17-9, 5-6 SEC), losers of two consecutive games, is scheduled to host a reeling Missouri team at 3 p.m. on SEC Network.
The Tigers have lost six games in a row and will be looking to put their losing streak to rest along with an even lengthier skid.
The Razorbacks have beaten Missouri (11-13, 2-9) the past 11 times the teams have met, including a 67-58 victory Jan. 28 in Columbia, Mo.
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“They’re just on another level of familiarity,” Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors said. “Because they’ve been our double opponent every year since we’ve been here, and then we’ve drawn them in the last two years in the SEC Tournament as well.
“So there’s no need for us to [go to the film room] and show a bunch of clips of Hayley Frank stepping behind ball screens or curling ball screens, or Mama Dembele. We could literally skip all of our film sessions. We won’t. We’ll remind them, but it’ll be fast. It helps.”
Arkansas is amid a crucial end-of-season stretch and is looking to earn at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. ESPN listed the Razorbacks as the fifth team left out of its most recent “Bracketology” projection.
Defeating the Tigers, who are tied with Georgia and Kentucky for last place in the SEC, is likely mandatory for Arkansas in its pursuit of its third NCAA Tournament appearance in four years.
“I think now my job and our job as coaches is to provide the proper perspective, because the information is out there,” Neighbors said. “We have all come to grips in this profession that we wake up with a number beside our name every day. Players, coaches, [sports information directors], we all live with that. We live with a number, a ranking, an evaluation every single morning.”
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The number Neighbors referred to was his team’s NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ranking of No. 64. The seventh-year coach expressed his frustration with the metric following his team’s 81-55 loss at Tennessee on Monday, saying he has “lost respect for the NET” this year.
He reiterated some of his concerns ahead of the Missouri game.
“Vanderbilt went on the road and won at Texas A&M, who were 30 spots ahead of them in the NET, and dropped a spot,” Neighbors said. “Now, I don’t have a good context for it or a good perspective for it, but it is what it is right now. None of us really understand on the women’s side because of the lack of knowledge of the formula. We don’t know how any of that’s working.”
Arkansas is tied with Texas A&M and Vanderbilt, two teams it will face over the final five games, for eighth place in the SEC. All three team are in the NCAA Tournament conversation, but could fall into the league’s bottom four.
“If you’ve looked at our league standings, it’s nuts,” Neighbors said. “Like you could literally finish still anywhere from fourth to last. It’s crazy, somebody is going to play on [the first day of the SEC Tournament] this year in our league with five wins.
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“I don’t know that a five-win team has ever played on a Wednesday since we’ve expanded.”
Missouri forward Hayley Frank, a preseason All-SEC selection, has missed the past three games with an undisclosed day-to-day injury. Following her team’s most recent game, a 70-59 loss to Auburn last Sunday, Tigers coach Robin Pingeton indicated Frank may be ready for the game against the Razorbacks.
“The only thing I’ll tell you is I think we’re really close,” Pingeton said. “We thought there was a possibility [against Auburn], but I always want to put the student-athlete’s wellbeing first. There’s no guarantees, but I feel like we’re getting really, really close and with the bye week, we’re hoping to have her back for Arkansas.”
Arkansas may have guard Carly Keats back. Keats broke her nose during the first meeting against Missouri and has since missed four games.
“I do think the bye week was very helpful,” Neighbors said of not playing Thursday. “[There was] much-needed recovery for specifically Keats. She was able to practice [Thursday] without contact and [Friday she practiced] with contact. If everything goes well there, and she adjusts to having the mask on, she should be full-go for Sunday.”
FAYETTEVILLE — The ninth-ranked Arkansas baseball offense was tamed Sunday by Stetson junior right-hander Trace Hartman.
Hartman allowed a run in the first inning but held down the Razorbacks for the rest of his 6 2/3-inning start, and the Hatters won 4-1 at Baum-Walker Stadium. Arkansas (12-4) had a five-game winning streak snapped.
The Razorbacks had chances against Hartman. They put the leadoff batter on base against him in the first, second, third, fifth and seventh innings, but they could not come through with the big hit. Arkansas finished the game 1 for 16 with runners on base and 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.
“Hartman just kept finding a way,” Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said. “He’d get behind in the count and he’d come back — 3-2, 3-1 and he’d get you out. He just pitched. Give credit to him. He did a good job.”
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Stetson (6-10) snapped its three-game losing streak and gave itself a chance to split the series with a win in Monday’s series finale. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
Hartman, a former NCAA Division II standout at University of Charleston (W. Va.) who entered the game with a 1.29 ERA and 0.71 WHIP, scattered 5 hits and 4 walks, and struck out 3 during his 101-pitch outing.
“I was getting the fastball across the plate,” Hartman said, “really just challenging the hitters and making them get themselves out.”
MORE FROM WHOLEHOGSPORTS: Notes, observations from 4-1 loss to Stetson
Stetson homered twice against Arkansas starting pitcher Colin Fisher in the fourth inning to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 lead. Left fielder Foster Apple led off the inning with a home run to left field to tie the game 1-1.
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After a throwing error by Arkansas shortstop Carson Brumbaugh and a 1-out double by Stetson shortstop Landon Russell, right fielder Jayden Hylton hit a 3-run homer to left to give the Hatters the lead for good.
Stetson players celebrate with right fielder Jayden Hylton (17) after he hit a home run during a game against Arkansas on Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Fayetteville. (Hank Layton/WholeHogSports)
It was the third home run of the season for the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Hylton, who Stetson coach Steve Trimper said before the series was likely the team’s best pro prospect.
“When Jayden gets hot he can be really good,” Trimper said. “He’s had kind of a roller coaster start to this [season]. He’s one of our better players and he just hung a breaking ball to him on that.
“Foster, he just hit a good pitch. That was a ball that the pitcher was doing a great job and he just got his hands inside the ball and was able to turn on it enough to where the wind — the only place the wind was out today, I think, was kind of down that left-field line.”
Three of the runs were earned against Fisher, who had not allowed an earned run in 22 innings prior to the fourth. It was the second-longest stretch without an earned run during Van Horn’s 24-year tenure. Barrett Astin threw 22 2/3 innings without an earned run to begin the 2012 season during the dead-bat era.
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Van Horn said Fisher was not as sharp as his recent outings. He gave up leadoff singles to Juan De La Cruz in the first inning and Paul Napolitano in the third, but he worked out of the jams.
Fisher struck out Yohann Dessureault with three consecutive curveballs in the first inning, and Renzo Gonzalez hit into an inning-ending double play in the third.
“You could kind of tell early that he was either going to have to get better [and] he was going to have to recover,” Van Horn said. “We were hoping after maybe the second inning he would like make a jump and start pitching better, but it really just kind of stayed the same.”
Fisher allowed 4 runs (3 earned) and 6 hits and struck out 4 during his 4-inning, 69-pitch start.
The Razorbacks plated a run quickly against Hartman in the first inning when Damian Ruiz led off with a double and scored on Camden Kozeal’s 1-out double.
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But there was little pressure on Hartman from that time until he left the game with runners on the corners in the seventh. Right-hander Andrew Lepine replaced Hartman and got Ruiz to ground into a force play at second base to end the seventh.
Arkansas second baseman Camden Kozeal (8) flips to shortstop Carson Brumbaugh to start a double play during a game against Stetson on Sunday, March 8, 2026, in Fayetteville. (Hank Layton/WholeHogSports)
Kozeal said the Razorbacks should have been more aggressive offensively.
“Maybe guys [were] taking it off a little bit 1 through 9,” Kozeal said. “We’ve got to have an aggressive lineup 1 through 9, trying to hit the ball hard.”
Lepine worked around a leadoff walk by Ryder Helfrick in the eighth and a 2-out walk by Carter Rutenbar in the ninth. His 2 1/3 innings of scoreless work Sunday followed 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief against the Razorbacks on Friday.
Trimper called Lepine “a really tricky guy” and a true submariner.
“We got our little sinker baller, sidearmer to come in and get ground balls,” Trimper said.
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Stetson out-hit Arkansas 7-5. De La Cruz and Russell both had 2 hits for the Hatters, and Ruiz and Maika Niu both had 2 hits for the Razorbacks.
Cole Gibler did not allow a hit and worked around 2 walks and Brumbaugh’s second throwing error in 3 scoreless innings. Ethan McElvain pitched scoreless eighth and ninth innings.
The Ozark Mountains, with their beautiful forested hills and winding rivers, create a charming setting for some of the region’s most darling small towns. Eureka Springs’ artsy, colorful downtown and historic Basin Park Hotel give it a whimsical atmosphere that feels unlike anywhere else in the Ozarks. Hermann, set along the Missouri River Valley, is home to historic wineries like Hermannhof Winery, which highlights the town’s long German winemaking heritage. And Mountain View, with its live folk music and traditional crafts at the Ozark Folk Center State Park, is another star destination.
Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Historic downtown of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Image credit Rachael Martin via Shutterstock
Eureka Springs, a charming gem in the Ozarks, warmly welcomes visitors with its whimsical charm. This vibrant Arkansas town is a hub of artistic expression and community spirit, nestled among breathtaking mountains. It’s easy to see why—packed with outdoor adventures and beautiful viewpoints along Lake Leatherwood City Park, this city offers a ‘eureka!’ moment at every turn! The historic Basin Park Hotel, loved since 1905, features a delightful mix of shops and galleries that showcase local artists. Plus, the stunning Thorncrown Chapel is a true masterpiece of architecture, reflecting Eureka Springs’ innovative spirit. With its perfect blend of natural beauty and creative energy, Eureka Springs invites everyone to discover its wonderful surprises and inspiring atmosphere.
Hermann, Missouri
A winery in Hermann, Missouri. Image credit: Ted Engler via Flickr.com.
Located in the beautiful rolling hills of the Missouri River Valley, Hermann, Missouri, is a charming spot surrounded by lush vineyards and breathtaking views that have welcomed visitors for centuries. This historic village, with its deep German roots, is lovingly nicknamed the “Napa Valley of the Midwest” thanks to its famous wineries and wine-making tradition dating all the way back to the 1800s. One lovely example among over 100 wineries is Hermannhof Winery, which has been honing its craft since 1852, offering welcoming tastings and guided tours that share the region’s rich winemaking story. The Deutschheim State Historic Site, home to two beautifully restored houses that showcase 19th-century life’s simplicity, offers even more glimpses into Hermann’s German heritage. Life in Hermann moves at a gentle pace, and the welcoming, old-world spirit of hospitality makes this quaint town a truly special place — a charming destination that continues to delight visitors to this small Ozark community.
Mountain View, Arkansas
Folk Music Capital of the World, Mountain View, Arkansas. Editorial credit: Travel Bug / Shutterstock.com
In Mountain View, the luxurious Ozark landscape surrounds a town that embraces its heritage warmly. The nearby Blanchard Springs Caverns, a captivating natural wonder, invite explorers to discover its expansive underground chambers, which feature towering stalactites and stalagmites, delicate flowstones, and sparkling streams that shimmer in gentle light. As visitors wander through the caverns’ winding passages, they may encounter hidden pools, ancient formations, and even rare underground plants. Skilled artisans and folk musicians can be found crafting traditional goods and performing heritage music amidst the peaceful beauty of the Ozark Folk Center State Park. Tourists can also gain deeper insights into Mountain View’s history at the Stone County Courthouse, built in 1922, which serves as a center for community events and local government. Visitors to Mountain View will experience the pure beauty of the Ozarks within the spirit of a tight-knit community.
Branson, Missouri
The Branson Scenic Railway train in Branson, Missouri. Image credit Rosemarie Mosteller via Shutterstock
Where the Ozark Mountains meet the sky, a shimmering hidden gem named Branson, Missouri stands out as a treasured destination for those seeking an authentic American experience. Branson is home to several landmarks, quite literally the biggest being Table Rock Lake, a massive reservoir hailed as a beloved spot for aquatic adventures, its shining waters inviting all to revel in its loveliness. At Table Rock Lake, vacationers can enjoy boating, swimming, and fishing. Another popular family attraction in Branson is Silver Dollar City, a renowned theme park where large numbers of travelers are whisked away on a journey through Ozark-themed attractions, plenty of live entertainment, and artisanal demonstrations. For a glimpse into the past, The Titanic Museum stands as a poignant tribute, with its half-scale replica of the iconic ship offering an immersive encounter equal parts educational and captivating. A charming community full of activity amidst the breathtaking scenery and miles of trails and waterways, Branson is the perfect base camp for an unforgettable adventure.
Camden, Arkansas
Camden, Arkansas, the Historic Ouachita County Courthouse. Image credit Roberto Galan via Shutterstock
With the Ouachita Mountains providing a dramatic backdrop for outdoor enjoyment, Camden, Arkansas, and its surrounding area contains a lush ecosystem surrounded by a fascinating past evidenced by the many well-preserved homes and museums the town has on display. The White Oak Lake State Park, which includes many areas along the Ouachita Mountains, remains a haven for nature enthusiasts, inviting exploration of its diverse landscapes with plenty of opportunities for fishing, birdwatching, and hiking. Stepping into the historic McCollum-Chidester House, visitors enjoy the grandeur of an antiquated era, gaining insight into the lives of a prominent 19th-century family. A reminder of the South’s complex past, Fort Southerland Park displays interpretive exhibits and guided tours that bring the Civil War era to life. As a result, Camden offers an enriching adventure, a distinctive pristine ambiance shaped by the town’s welcoming nature and the enduring legacy of its storied past.
Hardy, Arkansas
A tree swing over a river in Hardy, Arkansas.
The Spring River flows through the town of Hardy, Arkansas, nourishing its creative spirit and infusing its surroundings with a sense of both serene reverence and excitement for adventure. This 57-mile-long river flows through the states of Arkansas and Missouri, with the South Fork of the Spring River making its way through the area. As the river winds its way through the green landscape, it invites those to discover its allure, from canoeing and kayaking to trout fishing and beyond. Hardy’s artistic heart beats strong on Main Street, where local crafts, antiques, and gifts reflect the city’s artistic community throughout its variety of boutique shops. Nearby, the Old Hardy Town Jail, dating back to the early 1900s, serves as a small but significant piece of its past, its weathered walls echoing stories long past. Adventurers can also explore the Hardy History Museum, browse the shelves at the quaint Library Park Bookstore, or take in a show at the historic Ritz Theater. A true treasure of the Ozarks, Hardy combines artistic flair, thriving beauty, and historic significance all waiting to be discovered.
Russellville, Arkansas
CaptioThe scenic Davies Bridge in Petit Jean State Park near Russellville, Arkansas.
The majestic Lake Dardanelle reservoir reigns supreme in Russellville, Arkansas, its waters teeming with glittering fish. Russellville’s blue skies are likewise speckled with birds, and the town offers endless exploration opportunities for nature lovers and travelers seeking a relaxing retreat. With the Arkansas River winding its way gently through the landscape, it sets the stage for a charming district that seamlessly blends lasting legacy with reverence for the elegant nature that abounds in this beloved region. Downtown Russellville pulsates with warm energy, its local shops, mouthwatering restaurants, and historic Missouri-Pacific Railroad Depot—now a thriving community center—showcasing the town’s renowned hospitality. The Old Post Road Recreation Area stands as a poignant reminder of the area’s significant past, its roots in the Trail of Tears route inviting contemplation, reflection, and respect for the lives lost during this tragic event. In Russellville, visitors discover a home away from home, where a welcoming spirit is always abundant.
The Ozarks leave a lasting impression, with their warmth and heritage lingering long after you leave. Eureka Springs, famous for its historic Basin Park Hotel, and Hermann, known for its centuries-old winemaking traditions, showcase this region’s respect for its natural and historical legacy while embracing the future. Like a skilled storyteller, each place weaves a story that strikes a chord—filled with scenic beauty, cultural richness, and entrepreneurial spirit. The region’s timeless charm is enhanced by the unique character of each small town—a mix of history and modern life that makes these destinations both familiar and pleasantly surprising.
John Brummett’s career in news began when he was in high school, as a part-time reporter for the Arkansas Democrat. He moved to the Arkansas Gazette in 1977.
He wrote a political column for the Gazette from 1986 to 1990. He was an editor for the Arkansas Times from 1990 to 1992.
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In 1994, his book, “High Wire: From the Back Roads to the Beltway, the Education of Bill Clinton,” was published by Hyperion of New York City. He became a columnist with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in 1994. In 2000, he signed a deal with Donrey Media Group, now known as Stephens Media, and wrote for them for 11 years.
He rejoined Democrat-Gazette as a columnist on Oct. 24, 2011.
