Razorbacks Lose Matchup Between Two Bubble Teams with Texas A&M
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Arkansas lost a critical game on the road against the Texas A&M Aggies, 73-67, in a potential shootout for an NCAA tournament spot. Samara Spencer's game-high 24 points was little consolation to a team whose path to the tournament is much more difficult with only three regular-season games left.
"I just don't think we matched their intensity," Razorbacks coach Mike Neighbors said. "I think our effort was there, but the intensity that they come with and the athleticism that they come with. When it gets into a rock fight, that's just not our game."
With the Hogs up 65-64, the Aggies went on a quick 6-0 spurt to seal the game. Three straight buckets, including two layups and a Hog live-ball turnover handed Texas A&M the win. Both teams came into the game on opposite sides of the bubble with Texas A&M being one of the last teams in while Arkansas was one of the first four out according to ESPN's Charlie Creme.
Neither team found its rhythm in the first quarter. Both teams shot under 30% in the first quarter. The Razorbacks missed its first nine shots from beyond the arc. A shooting foul in the final 10 seconds of the first quarter against the Hogs broke a 13-13 deadlock as the Aggies took a two-point lead into the second.
Without leading scorer Taliah Scott (family emergency) for the second game in a row, the combination of Makayla Daniels and Spencer provided the points in the early stages with a variety of looks inside.
Daniels finally hit the Hogs' first shot from beyond the arc with 8:03 left in the half as part of a 17-2 run that turned an 18-13 deficit into a 30-20 lead at halftime. The Aggies went the final 7:40 of the quarter without a field goal and were held to just five points.
Maryam Dauda and Daniels opened the second half with back-to-back threes. The Aggies, however, quickly wrestled away the momentum, going on a quick 8-0 run to trim the lead back down to 36-32. Neighbors quickly called a timeout to reset the team.
The Aggies and Razorbacks traded baskets for the rest of the quarter. Texas A&M shot 12-for-15 from the floor in the third. A Sole Williams triple at the buzzer gave A&M the lead 49-48 after 30 minutes.
In a twist of irony, it was the Aggies' turn to make back-to-back threes to open up a 59-52 lead. Saylor Poffenbarger canned a much-needed triple as Arkansas clung on for dear life. About a minute later, a Dauda triple cut the lead back to the 63-60.
Poffenbarger picked up her fourth and fifth foul in quick succession and fouled out with 3:31 left. Spencer put the team on her back with five straight points including another three to give the Razorbacks the lead 65-64 before the Razorbacks ran out of steam.
"We cannot let this one hurt us on Sunday," Neighbors said. "If we will play that hard, if we'll stay that focused as we were going into this game, just play a little bit better. We'll be fine with our last, how many ever games we have."
The Razorbacks now play Vanderbilt 2 p.m. Feb. 25. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
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