LSU too much for Razorbacks
BATON ROUGE, La. — Sophomore Lyndsay Harris and senior Charity Ford scored 11 points each leading the University of Arkansas women’s basketball team but it wasn’t enough as the Razorbacks fell to No. 20 LSU in Baton Rouge, La., Thursday.
Arkansas (12-16, 4-11 SEC) fell 53-70 to LSU (19-8, 8-7 SEC). It is the second loss to the Tigers this year and the 16th consecutive LSU win over Arkansas.
“It was a frustrating loss for us,” Arkansas head coach Tom Collen said. “We knew it would be a challenge. Our defense was pretty porous. We let Courtney Jones get away from us and that was the difference in the game. We didn’t play really fast offensively and we struggled with the defense. We played a zone we really haven’t practiced much and it showed.”
Arkansas shot 42.6 percent for the game but did not get to the free throw line in the contest. Arkansas hit seven three’s, three by Harris, but the Tigers shot 50 percent and out-rebounded Arkansas 38-25 in a dominating performance in the paint.
Junior Skye Rees and freshman Dominique Robinson had four rebounds each leading Arkansas.
The teams were tied at five at the first media timeout of the game but LSU broke the huddle and went on a 12-0 run opening a lead they would hold for the entire game.
Arkansas struggled to get the ball inside with just 10 first-half points in the paint compared to 20 for LSU. The Razorbacks also had a hard time rebounding against the defensive-minded Tigers and had a 13-21 rebounding deficit in the first frame.
The first half finished with three Tiger players in double-digits while Arkansas was paced by sophomore C’eira Ricketts with seven at the break. Ricketts finished with nine points. Arkansas improved finishing the opening period shooting 37.5% but LSU managed a 45.5% half talking a 37-22 lead into the locker room.
Arkansas applied a bit more defensive pressure to start the second half and got a steal and two quick baskets. But LSU made an offensive adjustment and was able to beat Arkansas down the floor for the layup on the next possession.
The Tiger basket seemed to knock the wind out of Arkansas as LSU’s lead grew to as many as 22 late in the game.
Arkansas scored 24 points in the paint but gave up 40 to LSU and the Tigers managed 21 second chance points.
“We had 31 points in the second half,” Collen said. “That certainly doesn’t make us an offensive juggernaut but it was better than the first half. There were some things I was pleased with. We only had 15 turnovers and I thought we played hard. Our young kids are getting better. We have a way to go but I like the direction we’re moving.”
The Razorbacks conclude the regular season with a road game at No. 24 Georgia Sunday. The game tips at 1 p.m. and is televised by the SEC Network.
Download: Arkansas-LSU.pdf
