FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas women’s basketball team (17-7, 5-4 SEC) used a 31-point third quarter and two big stops on defense at the end of the game to defeat Auburn (14-8, 3-6 SEC), 74-72, on the Hogs’ Play4Kay game. Arkansas outscored Auburn 31-11 in the third quarter, as Taliah Scott tallied 17 of her 33 points in that quarter alone to pace the Hogs to their third straight one possession win over the Tigers.
Auburn got off to a quick 6-0 lead, as the Hogs had back-to-back turnovers converted into points for the Tigers. Maryam Dauda then got Arkansas on the board after its fourth possession with a layup. Arkansas and Auburn then fell in scoring droughts that both lasted over two minutes until Auburn picked off another Arkansas pass and turned it into points. After a scoring drought of over three minutes, Scott took it to the lane for a layup. At the media timeout taken at the 4:42 mark, Arkansas trailed 10-4. Auburn went on a 7-0 run that started before the media timeout, while Arkansas was held in a scoring drought for nearly 3.5 minutes. Dauda then helped the Hogs get out of the drought with a layup, but Auburn led the way after the first quarter, 17-6.
The Hogs and Tigers exchanged baskets to begin the second quarter. Arkansas cut the deficit to eight with 7:49 left in the first half after Spencer made one of two free throws, but Auburn went on a 6-0 run, leading to Arkansas calling a timeout. The Hogs trailed 27-13 with 5:49 left in the quarter. After a scoring drought for nearly four minutes, Makayla Daniels took it to the rack for two, and after the Hogs started the game 0-for-9 from beyond the arc, Scott knocked down a triple. A Daniels layup and Scott jumper cut the deficit to seven until Auburn broke their 2.5-minute scoring skid with a jumper. After outscoring the Tigers 19-17 in the second quarter, Arkansas trailed 34-25 at the half.
Scott knocked down a jumper to begin the second half, but Auburn answered with four straight points. Daniels and Scott then responded with back-to-back triples in just 20 seconds to climb the Hogs within five. The Tigers called a timeout, as the Hogs trailed, 38-33, with 7:51 left in the third quarter. Scott then drained her third 3-pointer to cut the deficit to two, but Auburn made one of two free throws to put the lead back to three. Scott then knocked down her fourth 3-pointer of the game to tie the game at 41 with under five minutes to play in the third. A Scott and-1 pulled the Hogs ahead by three, Arkansas’ first lead of the game, which started an 15-0 run for the Hogs, while Auburn was in a scoring drought for over 4.5 minutes and had no field goals for nearly eight minutes. Daniels then delivered a 3-point play to extend Arkansas’ run to an 18-1 one. Auburn hit a 3-pointer just before the end of the quarter, but the Hogs outscored the Tigers 31-11 in the third to take a 56-45 lead into the fourth quarter.
To begin the fourth quarter, Scott hit her sixth 3-pointer of the game to extend the Hogs lead to 14. Auburn responded with a 4-0 run and then Scott made two freebies. Auburn then knocked down two triples to cut the deficit to seven, but Scott went to the rack for a floater to put the Hogs back up by nine. The Tigers knocked down a jumper, and at the media timeout taken at the 4:48 mark, Arkansas led, 64-57. The Tigers, who were starting to press, picked off a pass to convert to a layup and cut the Arkansas lead to four until Daniels made one of two free throws. Auburn went on a 9-1 run, but Samara Spencer came up with a layup in response to put the Hogs back up by three. The Tigers tied the game after making 3-of-4 shots from the line. With 1:24 left in the game, the game was knotted at 67. Daniels made two free throws to pull the Hogs back ahead, but Auburn responded with a layup.
Spencer converted a 3-point play after drawing a foul off a layup, which was a huge play for the Hogs, and with 37 seconds left, Arkansas led 72-69, as Auburn called a timeout. After a stop on defense, Scott got fouled and made both free throws. Auburn then made a 3-pointer off a second-chance opportunity, as the Hogs led by two with 17 seconds left. Auburn then had to have a quick foul and found Daniels, who missed both to give Auburn another chance. The Tigers missed a layup with two seconds left but came up with a team rebound with two seconds left on the clock. Auburn lobbed the ball for a jumper, but the Tigers missed the game-tying basket at the buzzer, as Arkansas pulled out the 74-72 victory.
