FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas women's basketball team used two crucial runs in the third quarter to overcome a halftime deficit and hand South Dakota a 70-67 loss Thursday night in Walton Arena.
The Razorbacks led 15-12 after the first quarter, but they went into the locker room trailing 28-27 after an 8-0 Coyotes run over the final 2:13 of the first half. Jaycee Bradley's three-pointer with three seconds left put South Dakota ahead.
Arkansas 70, South Dakota 67
South Dakota^12^16^11^28^—^67
Arkansas^15^12^22^21^—^70
South Dakota (2-1): A. Arens 20, Duffy 17, Fogg 14, Bradley 9, McKeever 5, Liverinhouse 2.
Arkansas (3-0): Jackson 14, Monk 12, Cooley 12, Freeman 10, Zimmerman 7, Swenson 3, Danberry 2.
Jimmy Dykes' team turned South Dakota turnovers into points while reeling off runs of 11-2 and 7-0. The Coyotes turned the ball over seven times in the third quarter, and Jessica Jackson -- who began the second half on the bench -- scored seven of her team-high 14 points the quarter. Alecia Cooley added six in the quarter as the Razorbacks took a 49-39 lead into the fourth.
"We continued to keep our defensive pressure full court and tried to wear them down," Dykes said of the runs. "South Dakota had 21 turnovers. That's a big part of the ballgame. When we win the turnover battle by 10 and the rebounding battle by 12, it's hard to win on the road.
"Certainly our runs and our press there for two or three minutes a couple times in a row was big."
South Dakota Coach Dawn Plitzuweit said her team's 21 turnovers are uncharacteristic. With a pair of sophomores and two freshmen in the lineup, Plitzuweit said some of her players had never faced pressure like Arkansas'.
"I think Arkansas is a very good team and an incredible defensive team that's pressure is smothering," she said. "When our kids took care of the basketball, we got good shots for the most part and we could score. The hard part is we didn't get enough shots in the game. ... What they're good at is not allowing you to get the same look throughout the course of a game."
Five Arkansas players scored 10 or more points. Cooley had 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and Malica Monk also scored 12.
Briunna Freeman and Monk led the Razorbacks defensively with nine combined steals.
"We beat a really good basketball team tonight," Dykes said. "They shot the lights out. I don't feel like we played our best, but to win a tough game like that and not play your best in encouraging to us."
South Dakota was led by a 20-point night from Allison Arens on 7-of-11 shooting. As a team, South Dakota shot 57 percent.
Sports on 11/18/2016