Hot shooting sends Razorbacks past Louisiana Tech

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas women’s basketball (8-2) reached the century mark in the team’s win vs. Louisiana Tech (2-7), 100-60, Thursday night. Five Hogs reached double figures in scoring, while 11 players saw over five minutes on the court. The team shot 55 percent from the field (36-for-65) and 54 percent (14-for-28) from beyond the arc in the victory. Taliah Scott led the Hogs with 29 points, while Samara Spencer followed with a near triple-double behind 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

The Hogs got the game started with a 10-0 run, as Saylor Poffenbarger helped the Hogs get going with a 3-pointer. With 2:04 off the clock and Arkansas up 10-0, LA Tech took a timeout, as the Hogs went 4-for-5 from the field to start the game, while holding LA Tech to 0-for-3 from the field. LA Tech got its first score of the game off a 3-pointer, but that’s the most LA Tech could get for a while, as the Lady Techsters committed four turnovers in less than three minutes. Arkansas hit a two-minute scoring drought until Spencer splashed in a 3-pointer and Carly Keats followed with another, the Hogs’ fifth of the game. Beating the buzzer, Spencer logged a 3-pointer to end the first quarter, as the Hogs were on top, 27-12. Arkansas shot 59 percent from the field in the first, 6-of-10 from 3-point.

Both sides exchanged some turnovers to begin the game, but Maryam Dauda earned the Hogs first basket of the second quarter with 7:14 left in the frame. The Hogs then started to heat up from beyond the arc, as Makayla Daniels and Spencer made back-to-back 3-pointers. After a steal, Scott found Spencer under the basket for a layup to extend Arkansas’ lead to 22 and make it an 8-0 run. At the media timeout taken with 4:21 left in the quarter, the Hogs led, 40-18. Arkansas outscored the Lady Techsters 11-6 in the final four minutes and some change of the second quarter, with Scott logging nine of those points. With a season-high 51 points in a half, the Hogs led 51-24 at the half, as Arkansas finished the first half shooting 61 percent from the field, 20-for-33 from the field.

Arkansas got off to a slow start out of the half, shooting 2-of-6 from the field and being outscored 13-7 by LA Tech in the first five minutes of the third quarter. The Hogs were aggressive in the paint, getting to the line eight times during that stretch, but only making three of those eight attempts. At the media timeout at 4:37 left in the quarter, the Hogs were ahead, 58-37. The Hogs were held without a field goal for three minutes until Maryam Dauda made a nice move to the basket for a layup, which was a part of Arkansas’ 11-0 run with just 1:22 taken off the clock. That run continued, as Scott made back-to-back 3-pointers. Poffenbarger had a great spin move, as Arkansas closed out the final 3:17 of the quarter on a 16-0 run. The Hogs finished the third quarter strong, going into the fourth quarter ahead, 77-41.

The Hogs commenced the quarter on a 6-0 run after a Daniels 3-point play and a Jenna Lawrence triple, her first as a Hog. After LA Tech scored on the other end, Scott drained her fifth 3-pointer of the game to mark a career-high from beyond the arc. A Keats 3-pointer elevated the Hogs ahead by 44, Arkansas’ largest lead of the night, as LA Tech took a timeout with 6:35 left in the game. Lawrence knocked down two free throws and then got the Hogs’ their 100th point with a layup. Arkansas defeated LA Tech, 100-60.

HOG HIGHLIGHTS

• Arkansas shot over 50 percent from the field for the first time since facing Little Rock on Nov. 20, 2022
• The Hogs made 14 3-pointers of the night, the eighth most in school history
• Scott paced Arkansas with 29 points off an incredible 12-of-16 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 from 3-point, while finishing +40. Her five triples were a career-high and she logged her seventh 20-point game of the season. Her shooting percentage of 75 percent was a career best
• Spencer logged 20 points off 7-of-12 shooting from the field with three 3-pointers, along with eight rebounds, six assists and two steals in just 29 minutes played. Her 20 points is her first 20-piece of the season, 12th of her career
• Additionally, Spencer is now 15th on the all-time career assists list with 285
• Poffenbarger logged her third double-double of the season with 12 points (5-of-11 from the field and 2-of-3 from 3-point), 11 rebounds, a career-high five steals and two assists in just 22 minutes
• Dauda registered nine points off 3-of-4 shooting from the field with three rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes
• Daniels recorded 12 points off 3-of-4 shooting from the field, 5-of-6 from the line, with six boards, three steals and matching a career-high seven assists
• Another record in the books, Daniels set the school record for most games played with 132. She is now sixth all-time in free throws made (385)
• Lawrence logged her first double-digit scoring contest with 10 points (3-of-4 field goals and 3-of-4 from the line) with 12 minutes played
• Keats logged eight points with two triples
• Bea Franklin made her first appearance on the basketball court, joining the team just eight days ago after her All-American season on the soccer pitch for the Hogs. She logged five minutes
• Arkansas’ 27 points in the first quarter were the most the Hogs have scored in a quarter
• The Hogs reached 100 points for the first time this season, with the last coming on January 5, 2023, against Florida
• In addition to points, Arkansas also set season-high marks in assists (19), steals (13), field goals made (36), field goal percentage (55.4), 3-pointers made (14) and 3-point percentage (50)

UP NEXT
Arkansas will finish out the homestand by hosting its fourth and final in-state opponent with UAPB on Sunday, Dec. 10 at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.