FAYETTEVILLE -- It was 21 seconds the Arkansas women's basketball team won't soon forget.
South Dakota State rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final 21 seconds of regulation to force overtime, then outscored Arkansas 16-11 in the extra period to hand the 25th-ranked Razorbacks their first loss, 80-75, Thursday night at Walton Arena.
"There at the end, everything went our way," said South Dakota State Coach Aaron Johnston, whose team earned its first victory over a Top 25 on the road since December 2008. "If anything goes Arkansas' way it's over. We're lucky it didn't."
After senior Calli Berna missed two free throws with 8.6 seconds remaining, Chynna Stevens nailed a three-pointer from the right wing with 0.4 seconds remaining to tie the game and force overtime. Stevens' three-pointer was the second the Jackrabbits hit in the final :10.5 of regulation and capped a chaotic final half-minute.
Arkansas (6-1) led comfortably, 62-53, with 27 seconds left in regulation when Jhasmin Bowen hit the second of two free throws, but the Jackrabbits (5-2) quickly responded with a series of three-point plays. Macy Miller scored inside with 21.3 seconds left and was fouled on the shot. She made the free throw to pull South Dakota State to within 62-56.
Mariah Clarin stole the ball on Arkansas' next possession and scored on a layup, pulling the Jackrabbits to within 62-58.
The Razorbacks looked to have regained the momentum when Kelsey Brooks hit two free throws with 17 seconds left to push Arkansas' lead to 64-58, but South Dakota State responded again, using a three-pointer from Kerri Young with 10.5 seconds remaining to make it 64-61.
Berna's two misses and Stevens' three-pointer followed, and Arkansas never seemed to get into any offensive rhythm in overtime, making only two field goals.
"To say I'm disappointed is the understatement of the year," said Arkansas Coach Jimmy Dykes, whose first loss as the Razorbacks' coach ended Arkansas' 42-game nonconference winning streak at home. "To be up nine that late in the game and lose the game? We all had a part in that loss. I had a part in it. The missed free throws had a part in it. That [missing two free throws late] won't happen to Berna again."
Arkansas' lack of depth also proved costly. Berna played the entire 45 minutes of the game, Melissa Wolff played 43 and Brooks played 41 minutes.
"South Dakota State is really good, and their physical strength bothered us," Dykes said. "They wore us down for the first time all year."
The loss overshadowed a career-high 28 points by Brooks, the SEC's reigning player of the week. She was 6 of 12 from the field and 13 of 16 from the free-throw line.
Jhasmin Bowen added 20 points and Berna had 13, including 3 three-pointers, and 7 assists. Sophomore standout Jessica Jackson couldn't get into an offensive rhythm against the long, tall Jackrabbits and scored just 3 points on 1-of-10 shooting in 26 minutes.
"Now we know what it feels like to lose, and we don't like it," Brooks said.
"In overtime, they just outworked us," Bowen said. "The calls weren't going our way, and I think we let that affect us. We were shown our weaknesses tonight and we will work on it."
The Razorbacks were 21 of 33 from the free-throw line and shot 36.9 percent from the field, including 6 of 16 from three-point range. South Dakota State was 23 of 28 from the free-throw line and shot 45.5 percent.
"At the two-minute mark of regulation, things weren't looking good for us," Johnston said. "We had to make big plays at the end, and it just went our way."
Sports on 12/05/2014