Razorbacks Waste Taliah Scott Performance, in Loss to Pine Bluff

Despite falling to in-state rival, historic scoring pace of freshman continues

Daniel Shi | Dec 10, 2023

Razorbacks Waste Taliah Scott Performance, in Loss to Pine Bluff /

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Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors thought the early season problems of protecting leads were demons of the past. Despite holding a double-digit lead coming out of halftime, a poor third quarter opened the door for a spirited 74-70 come-from-behind win for Arkansas Pine-Bluff. The Razorbacks lost their first in-state game since 2005 (Arkansas State, 98-84)

"They have played very well this year," Neighbors said. "Their record is not indicative. They got to every loose ball. Twenty-two offensive rebounds tells you that they were really playing harder than we were, especially in the second half. I'm not going to stand up here and make excuses."

Despite being down 10 at halftime, UAPB continued to hang tough and refused to go away with its most efficient offensive quarter yet, shooting 55% from the floor with four triples of their own. The Golden Lions' Zaay Green was up to the task, leading UAPB with 21. A 15-7 run across the final five minutes of the quarter cut the lead to just one, 61-60, with 10 minutes to go. The Razorback offense went ice cold with no field goals over the final 4:30 of the third.

The momentum remained squarely with the visitors, a wing triple from Coriah Beck gave the Golden Lions a lead in the second half, 67-64. The Razorbacks lost all semblance of ball control with a season-high 16 turnovers, including four in the final quarter which led to 18 points.

The Razorbacks were still ice-cold in the final quarter, Nine points in the final quarter just didn't cut it. Pine Bluff's 22nd and final offensive rebound led to the final dagger three that sealed the Razorbacks' fate after the Hogs had cut the lead back to 1.

To make matters worse, Scott appeared to injure her ankle in the waning seconds of the game, but Neighbors provided an encouraging post-game report that she was able to walk around and put weight on the injured ankle.

UAPB coach Dawn Thornton against Razorbacks — UAPB coach Dawn Thornton on the sidelines against Razorbacks on Sunday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena :: Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images

"We don't even scratch the surface of what they have in Fayetteville," UAPB coach Dawn Thornton said. "One thing that we do have is a big heart. We have young women that don't really care about stuff. They just want to come out and play hard and make a name for themselves."

The game started so well. Death, taxes, and Taliah Scott scoring at least 15 points. The five-star freshman guard from Orange Park, Fla., has now scored at least 15 points in all 11 games in an Arkansas uniform and came into the game averaging 23.8 a game.

Thanks to five early threes, she scored 21 of the first 24 Hog points, all within six minutes from the end of the first quarter to midway through the second.

As Scott took over the game offensively, everyone else on the floor had no rhythm. Both teams struggled from the field in the opening 10 minutes, finishing a combined 9-for-43.

The Golden Lions countered Scott's blistering shooting by maintaining a good presence inside, with 11 offensive rebounds and 16 points in the paint in the first half.

After being dormant to start the game, the good shooting amongst the Razorbacks became contagious. The Hogs showed that they could knock shots from anywhere along the three-point arc, hitting shots from corner to corner and with different players. Saylor Poffenbarger and Makayla Daniels each had two triples in the first half, as Arkansas took a 42-32 lead into the break.

Razorbacks' Saylor Poffenbarger looks inside against UAPB on Sunday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena. — Razorbacks' Saylor Poffenbarger looks inside against UAPB on Sunday afternoon at Bud Walton Arena :: Andy Hodges / allHOGS Images

It all came crashing down in the second half as Arkansas seemingly ran out of gas at the end and the dormancy returned. Three players played over 39 minutes and the Razorbacks were held to just 26.5% from the field in the second half.

The Razorbacks will look to reorganize the troops against Samford in North Little Rock Dec. 16. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. and will be streamed on SEC Network+.