WACO, Texas -- Arkansas coach Jimmy Dykes said Saturday that his team can't shoot straight.
That proved to be the Razorbacks' downfall Sunday against Baylor.
They made four of their first six shots to hang around early, but their accuracy veered off course after that.
Arkansas finished the game making 15 of 61 shots (26.1 percent), missing 44 of its final 55 attempts, and second-seeded Baylor turned those misses into transition baskets and a 73-44 victory over the No. 10 seed Razorbacks in front of 4,593 at the Farrell Center.
"We had a phenomenal year and a bad day is what it boils down to," said Dykes, whose first Arkansas team finished at 18-14. "We were picked 12th in the SEC. Our first year we got to the NCAA tournament, won our first-round game and had a bad time to play a bad game. We didn't play very well. We shot the ball 24 percent. It's hard to beat a good team when you're shooting 24 percent, especially on their home floor."
Jessica Jackson led the Razorbacks with 15 points, but she was 4 of her 18 field-goal attempts and 1 of 8 three-point tries.
Melissa Wolff was more efficient, scoring 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting and pulling down 4 rebounds, but foul trouble limited her aggressiveness even though she played 30 of 40 minutes.
"I'd say that foul trouble hindered me a little bit," said Wolff, who finished with four fouls. "I had to come out and come back in. I think I was aggressive taking my shots. I was trying to do everything I could for my two seniors and give it everything I had because they've given me everything they've had all year."
Those seniors, point guard Calli Berna and forward Jhasmin Bowen, combined to play 73 minutes in their final collegiate game. Berna finished with 5 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists, while forward Jhasmin Bowen had 7 points and 8 rebounds.
The Razorbacks came out attacking the basket and collecting offensive rebounds for second chances. A Kelsey Brooks layup with 12:28 left in the first half gave them a 14-11 lead.
Things turned around quickly.
The Razorbacks missed 12 consecutive shots -- they made three more the rest of the half -- and the Lady Bears (32-3) outscored the Razorbacks 30-7 to take a 41-21 halftime lead.
"We were still getting the same shots," Dykes said. "If you go back and watch us play this year through our 32 ballgames, that's normal for us to go through scoring droughts -- it is. Like I said, we try to turn it into a rock fight because we're not going to win a horse contest. You saw that today."
Arkansas entered the locker room on a double downer. The Razorbacks not only trailed by 20, they also knew Baylor would be shooting free throws at the start of the second half.
Dykes was hit with a technical foul for protesting the no-call when Berna was knocked down on a drive in the final seconds. Baylor took the ball the other way for a Niya Johnson layup as time expired and Dykes was whistled for a technical on his way to the locker room.
Baylor's Johnson started the second half by making the technical free throws and Baylor led by as much as 60-26 with 11:14 to go.
"I was fighting for my team, and that's how the first half ended," Dykes said. "My guy was on the floor, and I got a technical."
Arkansas' didn't have much success penetrating inside with Baylor's 6-4 senior center Sune Agbuke clogging the middle. She blocked 8 shots, altered the course of countless others and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Forward Nina Davis contributed 21 points and eight rebounds, and point guard Johnson finished with 10 points and 12 assists.
Arkansas' Jackson scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half, and she went 6 of 8 from the free-throw line during that span.
Arkansas, down to eight available players with freshman center Katie Powell out, got 33 minutes, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and zero points from its bench.
Baylor's bench contributed 77 minutes and 26 points.
Jackson said lack of depth was not that big of a factor.
"I don't think fatigue at the end got us, really," she said. "I think we're in pretty good shape with the nine we have."
The loss with the fifth consecutive for Arkansas in second-round NCAA Tournament games, but it was only Arkansas' second NCAA appearance in 12 seasons since Gary Blair left for Texas A&M after the 2002-2003 season.
Dykes said he was pleased with the progress made during his first season as a head coach, after taking over for Tom Collen, as well as the future of the program.
"We accomplished a great deal, I feel like in our first year at Arkansas," said Dykes, who spent almost two decades as an ESPN basketball analyst before taking the Arkansas job last year.
"I took this job to build a program. I ain't going back into broadcasting. This is going to work out. It didn't work out like I wanted it to work out today, but it's going to work out. It was a great experience."
Sports on 03/23/2015