Arkansas Battles Florida Late, Falls 75-69
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Razorback women’s basketball team (11-14, 0-10 SEC) trailed Florida (15-11, 3-8 SEC) by as many as 14 in the second half but battled back to a four-point deficit in the final minute. Arkansas outscored Florida 24-21 in the fourth quarter but the Gators got the 75-69 win thanks to free throws from leading scorer Liv McGill.
Junior guard Emily Robinson led the Hogs with a season-high 21 points.
First Quarter – 17-19
- Florida won the tip and hit a three-pointer on its first possession from Caterina Piatti. Taleyah Jones missed a three on Arkansas’ first possession but connected on the second.
- The Gators started 4-4 from the field with a pair of threes.
- Florida led 15-11 at the first media timeout and missed their last six from the field.
- Harmonie Ware made four straight free throws to cut the lead to 19-17 with under a minute to play in the first quarter.
- Florida had the final play of the quarter but airballed its attempt. After a hot start, the Gators were two for their last 12 from the field.
- Arkansas was outrebounded 14-6 in the first quarter. Florida had six offensive rebounds but only two second-chance points.
Second Quarter – 29-33
- The Gators started hot again with three straight makes to open up a seven-point lead but missed their next four.
- Both teams entered the media timeout on two-plus-minute scoring droughts. Florida led 26-21.
- Jade Weathersby made two free throws to give the Gators their largest lead of the game at nine points.
- Jenna Lawrence checked in and hit a three to pull the Hogs within seven at the 2:16 mark.
- Arkansas closed the half on a 5-0 run with a three-pointer by Maria Anais Rodriguez and a layup by Ware.
- The Hogs closed the gap to 19-23 on the boards with a 13-9 edge in the second quarter. Bonnie Deas grabbed five to bring her total for the game to seven.
- Both teams shot under 40% in the first half. Florida was 13-33 (39%) and Arkansas was 10-31 (32%).
Third Quarter – 45-54
- Florida opened the half with a pair of threes from Liv McGill and Piatti.
- The Gators jumped out to a 14-point lead with under four minutes left but Arkansas clawed back to single digits with a pair of threes from Robinson and a three-point play from Ware to close the quarter.
- Robinson scored 10 points in the quarter
Fourth Quarter – 68-75
- The Gators opened with four straight points to push their lead to 14. Robinson ended the short run with a layup.
- Jones hit a three to cut it to nine but Florida responded with a triple from Alexia Dizeko.
- The Gators led 61-52 at the media timeout.
- An and-one from Chlarson cut it to eight with 3:21 to play.
- Another and-one from Chlarson cut it to seven at 69-62 with 2:00 to play.
- A three from Jones cut it to six with 50 seconds left in the game.
- Jones it her fifth with 31 seconds to cut it to four.
- Deas fouled McGill, who went 1-2 from the line, to give the Hogs the ball back down five with 21 seconds left.
- Florida sealed the win with more free throws from McGill.
Game Notes
- Robinson finished with a season-high 21 points and led Arkansas in scoring for the second time in the last three games. She’s averaging 19.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists in her last three appearances.
- Deas led the Hogs in rebounds for the 18th time this season with 13. It was her 12th game with 10+ rebounds this season and third of SEC play.
- Arkansas finished two rebounds shy of Florida, 45-43, after being outrebounded 14-6 in the first quarter.
Up Next
Arkansas will head to No. 13 Ole Miss on Thursday, Feb. 12. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised on SEC Network with Brenda VanLengen (play-by-play) and Steffi Sorensen (analyst) on the call.
For more information on Arkansas women’s basketball, follow @RazorbackWBB on social media.