Harris Ford lead Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Lynsday Harris and Charity Ford led the University of Arkansas women’s basketball team with double-digit scoring but it wasn’t enough to defeat No. 6 Georgia in Bud Walton Arena Sunday.
Arkansas (8-10, 0-5 SEC) fell 63-73 to the Lady Bulldogs (17-1, 4-1 SEC) dropping their fifth conference game in a row.
“This was similar to other games this year in that we played well in spurts,” Arkansas head coach Tom Collen said. “But we couldn’t maintain the intensity for 40 minutes. I’ve got to do a better job developing those on-the-court leaders. We didn’t shoot well today. We’re good and we have talent but we took too many bad shots.”
Harris led Arkansas with 17 points with Ford added 12 but the Razorbacks shot just 28.4 percent as a team.
Arkansas converted their first possession and scored the first six points of the game getting out to a fast start against the Lady Bulldogs. But Georgia stormed back with a 7-0 run setting the tone for the first period. The fast-paced track meet was a see-saw battle between the teams as they exchanged points and rebounded well for much of the first frame.
Georgia pulled away by double-digits late in the half taking a 40-30 lead into the break. The Lady Bulldogs shot nearly 50 percent in the half holding Arkansas to 28 percent led by Ford’s 10 points. The difference came when Georgia put together a 13-3 run taking a 22-13 lead at the mid-point of the half.
Arkansas had to play catch up but was able to rally with a 10-3 run closing the gap to three points, 25-22. The Lady Bulldogs picked up the pace on offense and again stretched the lead, this time to double-figures as the half ended.
Arkansas fought hard as the second half started but Georgia continued to shoot well and quickly stretched the lead to 20 points eventually opening a 25 point advantage midway through the second half. Arkansas, meanwhile, struggled as the shooting percentage fell as the game wore on.
Although the Razorbacks were never able to climb back into the game, Arkansas continued to scrap getting a pair of blocks and some fast-break points down the stretch.
Georgia led by 20, 53-73, with 2:54 to play when Jamesha Townsend scored two of her six points on a layup. Junior Skye Rees added a three-pointer followed by a layup from freshman Sarah Watkins as Arkansas shrunk the lead to 13. Rees finished with eight points and Watkins added four.
Watkins was fouled on the play and hit the bonus shot bringing Arkansas within 12, 61-73.
Rees hit the final bucket of the game with a long two-pointer with 35 seconds remaining to close within 10, 63-73.
“We really challenged this team with about four minutes remaining to finish strong and to beat Georgia in the final minutes,” Collen said. “We really played hard defensively in the final minutes and executed the offense well once we slowed down a bit. I was pleased with the effort in the final minutes.”
The Razorbacks play five of the next seven games on the road traveling to Kentucky Jan. 21, at Alabama Jan. 24. The Alabama contest is scheduled to air on FSN at 2 p.m. central.
Download: Arkansas-Georgia.pdf
