FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas women's basketball team responded to everything No. 2 South Carolina threw at it in the first half Thursday night.
The second half was a different story.
The Gamecocks used a 15-4 run to open the second half and pulled away to remain perfect in the SEC with a 73-56 victory at Walton Arena.
Arkansas (15-10, 5-8 SEC) trailed by two points late in the first half and by seven at halftime before the bigger, deeper Gamecocks (25-1, 13-0) took control and turned a close game into a 53-35 lead seven minutes into the second half.
The Razorbacks used an 8-0 run, sparked by consecutive three-pointers from senior Calli Berna and sophomore Jessica Jackson, to trim South Carolina's lead to 53-43 with 9:07 remaining.
A three-point play from Jackson capped another 8-0 run that made it 61-51 with 6:18 left, but that was as close as Arkansas would get the rest of the way.
South Carolina, whose only loss was to No. 1 Connecticut, shot 52 percent, including 57.1 percent in the first half.
The inside duo of A'ja Wilson and Alaina Coates gave Arkansas fits, combining for 28 points and 15 rebounds.
Arkansas was led by Jackson with 20 points and Berna, who finished with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting. The Razorbacks shot 42.3 percent.
South Carolina's depth was a factor as well as the Gamecocks outscored Arkansas 32-3 in bench points.
South Carolina led by 10 with 11:04 left in the first half before Arkansas used a series of spurts -- sparked by three-pointers -- to make the game close.
Five points by Berna, including a three-pointer, and two baskets by Jackson helped Arkansas go on a 11-2 run and pull to within 16-15 with 9:19 remaining.
Then, after the Gamecocks pushed their lead to 25-17, back-to-back three-pointers by Brooks and Berna trimmed South Carolina's lead to 25-23 with 5:22 left in the half. But South Carolina continued to use a steady dose of Wilson and Coates inside to close the half on a 13-8 run.
Wilson scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first half, and South Carolina shot 57 percent (16 of 28). Arkansas shot 42.9 percent (12 of 28).
The Gamecocks held a 21-3 advantage in bench points in the opening 20 minutes.
The Razorbacks host LSU on Sunday and No. 10 Kentucky on Thursday before closing out the regular season at Missouri on March 1.
Sports on 02/20/2015