LITTLE ROCK — It was another cold night for the Arkansas women’s basketball team.
No. 13 Georgia scored the first nine points of the game and never looked back Thursday night as it defeated Arkansas 66-34 at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga.
Georgia (22-4, 10-3 SEC) held Arkansas (17-9, 5-8) to a season-low 26.4 percent shooting (14 of 53), including 12.5 percent (2 of 16) from behind the three-point line. Arkansas also committed 23 turnovers that led to 30 points for Georgia.
It was quite a turnaround from when the teams met Jan. 17 in Fayetteville. Georgia trailed by 15 points in that game before rallying for a 57-53 victory.
This time, Georgia jumped out to an 18-4 lead and went into halftime ahead 30-16.
“Well, clearly we are disappointed,” said Arkansas Coach Tom Collen, whose team posted its lowest output since losing to No. 14 Vanderbilt 61-34 on Jan. 28, 2007. “This was a game we feel like we were really well-prepared for and we let it get away.
“We are going to have to regroup and come out strong in the rest of the games.”
Senior forward Jasmine Hassell scored 14 points and senior guard Jasmine James had 12 as Georgia outscored Arkansas 34-18 in the paint.
“The thing that was cool was that we played so hard early, and when we needed to go to the bench it didn’t fall off,” Georgia Coach Andy Landers said. “Everyone looked terrific.”
Freshman guard Dominique Wilson and senior guard Erin Gatling had eight points each for the Razorbacks, whose 34 points tied a program low for fewest points in an SEC game. Senior post player Sarah Watkins, Arkansas’ leading scorer going into the game with an average of 12.7, made just 1 of 4 shots while being held to two points.
Arkansas was hurt by 14 turnovers in the first half that gave the Bulldogs some easy scoring opportunities. Georgia made the most of them, hitting 13 of 19 shots (68 percent) in the half.
Gatling scored her eight points in the first half, but the Razorbacks shot just 32 percent and made only seven field goals.
Things didn’t get any better in the second half for Arkansas as the Razorbacks committed four quick turnovers coming out of halftime.
The Bulldogs outscored Arkansas 17-6 to open the half and eventually pushed their advantage to 34 points as they picked up their sixth victory in their past seven games.
“We don’t always play two halves, and they’ve heard that and we’ve been trying to address it,” Landers said. “Now it’s time to get it all right and we’re doing that.”NO. 10 TEXAS A&M 82, MISSISSIPPI 53
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Kelsey Bone had 24 points and a career-high 17 rebounds to help No. 10 Texas A&M beat Mississippi.
Bone led the Aggies in scoring for the 18th time this season to help them get back on track after a 70-66 loss to No. 8 Kentucky on Monday night which snapped an eight-game winning streak.
Texas A&M (21-6, 11-2 SEC) led by 12 points at halftime and was up by the same margin five minutes into the second half. The Aggies then used a 12-2 run to extend the lead to 60-38 midway through the half, and coasted to the victory.
Valencia McFarland had 11 points to lead Ole Miss (9-17, 2-11), which has lost six of seven.
NO. 11 TENNESSEE 83, AUBURN 61
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Meighan Simmons scored 24 points and Cierra Burdick had 15 points and a career high 13 rebounds as No. 11 Tennessee trounced Auburn to remain in sole possession of first place in the SEC.
Simmons had 11 points in the first eight minutes and made 3 three-pointers in a 67-second span early in the game. Taber Spani added 16 points and Bashaara Graves had 14 points for the Lady Volunteers (21-5, 12-1 SEC).
Tyrese Tanner scored 20 points, Blanche Alverson added 15 points and Chadarryl Clay had 10 points for Auburn (14-12, 3-10), which lost for the ninth time in its past 10 games.
Tennessee went 6 of 7 from three point range in the first seven minutes and eventually owned a 33-7 lead. Auburn never threatened the rest of the way.
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Georgia 66, Arkansas 34 Tennessee 83, Auburn 61 Vanderbilt 68, Florida 57 Mississippi State 75, Alabama 51 Texas A&M 82, Mississippi 53
Sports, Pages 20 on 02/22/2013