Fourth quarter dooms Arkansas in loss at UGA

A fourth-quarter meltdown doomed the Arkansas ladies’s basketball workforce Sunday in Athens, Ga.

Arkansas (19-10, 6-8 SEC) stored tempo with Georgia for 3 quarters however was outscored 23-8 within the closing 10 minutes in a 71-48 runaway victory for the Girl Bulldogs.

Halfway via the interval, Georgia (19-9, 8-6 SEC) used a 14-0 run in underneath two minutes to balloon a nine-point lead right into a 23-point benefit, accelerated by a pair of technical fouls on Arkansas’ bench. The Razorbacks scored two factors within the closing six minutes.

“It is irritating for us as coaches and it is irritating for the children,” Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors mentioned. “We will not level to 1 little factor. It wasn’t simply that little three-minute (stretch). It wasn’t one of many technicals. It wasn’t one name.

“It was a end result of issues that led to a boiling-over level and it received away from us. However that is a lesson for us to study.”

A theme all through the sport was Arkansas’ struggles from deep. The Razorbacks shot 5 of 33 past the arc, with senior guard Chrissy Carr making all 5 triples. The remainder of the workforce was 0 of 20 from distance.

Neighbors mentioned a lot of the Razorbacks’ makes an attempt have been beauty, however the pictures weren’t falling.

“I assumed 25 [were] good ones by shooters that we clearly need capturing,” Neighbors mentioned. “You recognize, Saylor (Poffenbarger), Sam(ara Spencer) and Mak(ayla Daniels) are children which have made them traditionally and make them on daily basis in follow at a better fee than anyone we’ve got.

“It simply did not translate. In warmups, we have been on fireplace.”

Arkansas stored issues shut a lot of the recreation and drew inside 42-38 with 2:50 left within the third quarter when Erynn Barnum made a layup. Carr (21 factors) and Barnum (16 factors) accounted for 77% of the Razorbacks’ scoring. The remainder of the workforce went 4 of 28 from the ground.

Carr scored 10 straight factors for Arkansas within the second quarter to maintain the Razorbacks inside 31-27 at half.

“She’s been in a variety of large video games,” Neighbors mentioned of Carr, who’s a graduate switch. “She’ll be the primary one to inform you that her offense was fairly good, however her protection wasn’t. That’s the maturity Chrissy has. However she performed good offensively, dealt with the stress, dealt with the contests and our children began searching for her.”

Javyn Nicholson, who entered the sport averaging 8.7 factors, was a pressure for the Bulldogs. She scored a game-high 22 factors on 10-of-15 capturing, and Diamond Battles and Audrey Warren chipped in 13 and 14 factors, respectively, for Georgia.

Coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson’s workforce annoyed the Razorbacks to the tune of 17 turnovers and 30.4% capturing.

“Georgia, I believe they’re a extremely, actually good basketball workforce,” Neighbors mentioned. “I have been telling individuals since we noticed them play down within the Virgin Islands (that) I believe they’re clearly a lock NCAA event workforce now. They’ll give lots of people matches as a result of it’s a must to put together such as you’ve not ready all 12 months.

“There’s not lots of people that play protection like they do.”

Within the loss, Barnum grew to become the thirty second Razorback to attain 1,000 profession factors with a fourth-quarter basket.

Sunday’s loss was damaging for Arkansas’ NCAA Event hopes and makes Thursday’s recreation at Mississippi State a must-win contest except the Razorbacks make a deep run on the SEC Event subsequent week.