FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ seniors signed up with Coach Tom Collen to help put the Razorbacks back into the NCAA Tournament.
There was the feeling among the players and coach that they did just that with a 67-53 victory against Mississippi State in front of 3,673 fans for Senior Day on Sunday at Walton Arena. Arkansas’ five seniors were Collen’s first recruiting class in 2008.
The victory was Arkansas’20th of the season and ninth in the SEC, guaranteeing the Razorbacks their first above-.500 conference mark since a 7-4 mark in 1993-1994.
“I feel like I’ve been around this long enough to know what a good resume looks like,” said Collen, in his fifth season at Arkansas. “I think we have the resume in place already. I feel good about that.”
The Razorbacks (20-6, 9-5) got critical production from their three senior starters. Forward Ashley Daniels had 10 rebounds in the first 12 minutes and finished with 16rebounds and 10 points.
Guard C’eira Ricketts had 18 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds, and guard Lyndsay Harris has 17 points and four assists. Junior center Sarah Watkins had 12 points to give Arkansas four scorers with 10 or more points.
Harris said Collen told the team that beating Mississippi State was important to secure its NCAA berth. The Razorbacks have not made the NCAA field since 2003 and have not won an SEC tournament game under Collen.
“I feel like we’ve helped him fulfill what he wanted for this program,” Harris said. “We kind of jump-started it.That’s really special because it makes us feel like we’ve done our job.”
Mississippi State Coach Sharon Fanning-Otis said the Razorbacks’ scorers were able to get the shots they wanted. Arkansas scored the first nine points before Mississippi State (14-13, 4-10) rallied to tie at 19-19.
“When you have four people who can be in double figures then you’re hard to guard,” Fanning-Otis said. “They play their roles pretty good, and they know where to be on the floor.”
Mississippi State freshman Jerica James (North Little Rock) got her first start and scored a career-high 12 points after entering the game averaging 1.3 points. Her three pointer tied it at 19-19 with 9:19 left in the half, but Arkansas regained control to take a 28-23 halftime lead.
Arkansas led by more than 10 points for most of the second half. Daniels said the Razorbacks never worried about how close Mississippi State got because they weren’t sure what the score was at any particular point.
“I don’t think we panic,” Daniels said. “Actually, I don’t even think we realized the score was that close. I don’t think we’re a team that looks at the scoreboard.”
Collen said he was a bit nervous because his team was so relaxed, especially on the offense. One of the more prominent aspects of this year’s Arkansas team has been the players unflappable nature, perhaps to be expected from a senior-laden team.
“They assured me at halftime that they had it under control, but I felt I needed or wanted a little bit more of a sense of urgency from them,” Collen said. “True to their nature, they made the shots when they had to make them.
“They’re to the point in their careers where they’re not real rattled if the game got to eight or 10. They just felt like they had it under control. You can’t ask much more of your seniors.”
Arkansas finishes conference play with road games against No. 13 Tennessee and No. 25 South Carolina. The Razorbacks, currently tied for fourth in the SEC, could earn a first-round tournament bye with a top-four finish.
Sports, Pages 17 on 02/20/2012