Carolina downs Arkansas in SEC final

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COLUMBIA, SC - The University of Arkansas women's basketball team suffered a 53-47 loss in Southeastern Conference action at South Carolina Sunday.

Arkansas (21-7, 10-6 SEC) awaits word of who it will face in the 2012 SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn., next week.

"Certainly it is disappointing to lose but we have a good body of work to reflect on this year," Arkansas head coach Tom Collen said.  "We have to put this loss behind us quickly and get in the right frame of mind for the SEC Tournament."

There were no surprises in the first half.  South Carolina came out on fire and their guards hassled the Razorbacks early forcing 11 first half turnovers.  Arkansas shot the ball well, 45.5 percent, but Sarah Watkins and Lyndsay Harris were limited with two fouls each in the opening 20 minutes.

With Watkins on the bench, Carolina scored 18 of its 26 first half points in the paint and added 11 second chance points as the Razorbacks struggled to rebound on the defensive end of the floor.

Offensively, the Razorbacks were placed by C'eira Ricketts with seven points and Ashley Daniels and Keira Peak added six each as Arkansas had to find points in some unlikely places.

The Razorbacks opened the second half with a 7-4 run to the first media timeout, leading 35-30 with 15:15 to go in the game.

Carolina stormed back tying the game then taking the lead when Ebony Walker drove the baseline and scored with 10:01 on the clock.  Carolina grew the lead to four and the crowd of exploded when Watkins was called for her fifth foul with 3:30 left in the game.
Arkansas had a stretch in the second half going more than 3:30 without a score before hitting one free throw to break the drought.  The Razorbacks then went cold to end the game, hitting their last field goal at the 11:32 mark.  Harris hit a free throw at 1:19 but Carolina hung on for the win.

Daniels finished with 11 points and four rebounds.  Ricketts added seven and Harris, Dominique Robinson, Quistelle Williams and Peak had six each in the loss.

Arkansas shot just 32.6 percent for the game hitting 15-of-46 from the floor.

The Razorbacks travel to Nashville, Tenn., for the SEC Women's Basketball Championship March 1-4.  Check ArkansasRazorbacks.com Sunday evening for the complete SEC Tournament and schedule information