UA mixes it up, shakes Ole Miss

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Arkansas mixed its defenses Thursday night during its opening game in the SEC Women’s Tournament at Bridgestone Arena.

Press, zone, man-to-man, it really didn’t matter what Arkansas went to because 12th-seeded Ole Miss wasn’t scoring much against any of them.

The fifth-seeded Razorbacks made nine three-pointers, built a 20-point lead in the opening 14 minutes and went on to a 67-47 victory to set up a quarterfinal matchup with LSU at 6:30 tonight.

“We count on our defense to do a lot for us, to help us get going,” Arkansas guard C’eira Ricketts said. “We just hope our shots fall tomorrow like they fell today.”

Ricketts had 10 points and Lyndsay Harris and Dominique Robinson added nine apiece as the Razorbacks shot 49 percent from the floor and50 percent from behind the three-point line. Danielle Mc-Cray’s 14 points led Ole Miss, which shot 37.8 percent and committed 23 turnovers that led to 28 Arkansas points.

“I understand now why Arkansas is the hottest team in the league,” Ole Miss Coach Renee Ladner said. “They seem to be on a mission.”

Arkansas ended a string of six consecutive first-round losses at the SEC Tournament and can advance to its third tournament semifinal - and first since 2002 - with a victory tonight.

The Razorbacks split the season series with LSU, winning 72-52 at Baton Rouge and losing 50-42 in Fayetteville two weeks ago. Both teams finished 10-6 in league play, but the Tigers earned the No. 4 seed and a bye by winning a three-team tiebreaker.

“When we went [to LSU]… we started knocking down threes against them, gained a lot of confidence,” Arkansas Coach Tom Collen said. “We were just on fire. I think they were probably shocked that we shot the ball as well as what we did.

“The game at our place was completely different. It was a defensive battle. We didn’t make shots. They made some adjustments in their zone that I thought were good adjustments.

“We’ve seen those, so we feel like we know how to adjust back. But I think it will still come down to our ability to make shots and rebound.”

Thursday’s outcome was never in doubt. Arkansas scored the game’s initial eight points as Ole Miss began 0 of 7 from the field with four turnovers. By the time Quistelle Williams hit back to-back three-pointers to get the Razorbacks’ outside game going, the lead was 18-5.

Harris was the next to get it going from behind the arc against Ole Miss’ zone. She hit two three-pointers and Robinson followed suit to extend the margin to 29-9 with 6:09 left in the half. It was 36-17 at halftime.

“I think our post players did a really good job of finding our shooters early,” Harris said. “We were able to lose their defensive players around the three-point line. You know, once one person starts making them, I think everybody just gets confidence.”

Arkansas began the second half sluggish as Ole Miss scored the first five points, but Ricketts’ steal of a Valencia McFarland pass in the back court produced a layup to get things jump-started. Robinson hit a baseline floater on the next possession, and Arkansas was on its way.

The closest the Rebels got down the stretch was 51-36. Ashley Daniels answered with a turnaround bank shot and completed the three point play to spark a 10-0 run for Razorbacks.

“The second half, we kind of did what we needed to do,” Collen said. “We didn’t really put them away for a while, but we made enough plays in spurts.”

FLORIDA 70, AUBURN 60

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Jordan Jones scored 17 points as eighth-seeded Florida (19-11) beat ninth-seeded Auburn (13-17) in the first round of the SEC Tournament.

The game marked the end of Auburn Coach Nell Fortner’s career. Fortner announced Feb. 21 she was retiring after her eighth season with the Tigers and 18th year as a head coach.

The Gators led by as many as 18 points in the second half and held a 57-41 lead when Hasina Muhammad tipped in a shot for Auburn. That basket launched a 10-2 run that cut Florida’s lead to eight points with 2:46 to play, but the Tigers wouldn’t get any closer.

Florida scored 20 points off 13 Auburn turnovers. The Gators gave away the ball 14 times, but those turnovers only led to eight points for the Tigers.

Muhammad led Auburn with 20 points. Florida will face top-seeded Kentucky today.

VANDERBILT 67, MISSISSIPPI STATE 51

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Christina Foggie scored 18 points as Vanderbilt (22-8)beat Mississippi State (14-16) in the opening round of the SEC Tournament.

Mississippi State didn’t put up much of a fight in Coach Sharon Fanning-Otis’ last game before retiring. Vanderbilt scored 12 of the first 14 points and led 34-22 at halftime.

Jasmine Lister added 13 points, and Stephanie Holzer and Tiffany Clarke had 10 points each.

Diamber Johnson and Porsha Porter had 12 points each for Mississippi State.

The seventh-seeded Commodores play No. 13 Tennessee today in the quarterfinals.

NO. 25 SOUTH CAROLINA 57, ALABAMA 38

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - La’Keisha Sutton scored 15 points, and No. 25 South Carolina beat Alabama in the opening round.

Markeshia Grant added 10 points for South Carolina (22-8).

Jasmine Robinson led Alabama (12-19) with 11 points, and Kyra Crosby 10. The Tide scored a season-low 14 in the first half and led only once on Robinson’s tip-in for the first basket.

SEC Women’s Tournament At Bridgestone Arena Nashville, Tenn.

THURSDAY’S GAMES

Florida 70, Auburn 60

Vanderbilt 67, Mississippi State 51

Arkansas 67, Mississippi 47

South Carolina 57, Alabama 38

TODAY’S GAMES All times Central

Kentucky vs. Florida, noon

Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt, 2:30 p.m.

LSU vs. Arkansas, 6:30 p.m.

Georgia vs. South Carolina, 9 p.m.