Clog the passing lanes. Lock down the paint. Fill the gaps. The mantra for Arkansas this season is simple: Play strong defense.

So far, the Lady Razorbacks have and as a result they remain undefeated through seven games. Entering today’s 2 p. m. contest against Clemson (4-4 ) at Bud Walton Arena, Arkansas leads the Southeastern Conference in field goal percentage defense. Opponents have made only 125 of the 405 shots they have attempted against the Lady Razorbacks.

“ We’re not letting those teams get those easy baskets, ” Arkansas forward Sarah Pfeifer said. “ We’re closing in and making a little shield around the lane and not letting anyone get in there. We’re making those people make those outside shots. ”

And they are. The Lady Razorbacks (7-0 ) have the worst three-point field goal percentage defense in the conference. Teams that have played against Arkansas this season have made 49 of the 137 shots they have attempted from behind the arc. But Lady Razorbacks coach Tom Collen can live with that as long as Arkansas continues to deny opponents opportunities near the basket.

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“ Right now, we’re just trying to keep people out of our paint, ” Collen said. “ That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to make people beat us from the outside. ”

Considering the lack of size on Arkansas’ roster, its approach seems counterintuitive. The tallest player on the Lady Razorbacks is 6-foot-3 post Lauren Ervin. But the Lady Razorbacks have been able to overcome their height deficiency by communicating well on the floor.

“ It’s not about oneon-one, ” Arkansas junior guard Brittney Vaughn said. “ This year, if your teammate gets beat, you have to be there to help your teammate. We’re playing the gaps. They think they are able to penetrate all the way to the goal and then somebody steps in and takes a charge or gets a block. So, it’s been working out pretty well. ”

Indeed it has. The Lady Razorbacks are second in the SEC in scoring defense, surrendering an average of 51 points per game. Vaughn said the positive results have come from hard work in practice and the constant prodding of assistant coach Timothy Eatman.

“ He gets us ready for whatever they are going to bring towards us, ” Vaughn said. “ He allows us to be very versatile on defense. He gets us ready. When we get into the game, we know their plays. We get comfortable and that’s when we get stops. We’re going to have to play defense first. ”

That’s the philosophy Collen and the rest of the coaching staff have been able to convince the players to buy into this season — so much so that the team’s mantra is always on the tips of their tongues.

“ It’s very, very tempting when you’re scouting opponents to get away from your base philosophy and just figure out how to win games, ” Collen said. “ But we’ve been keeping in our base and it’s paying off. We expect to hold people to a low percentage, and we’ve done a terrific job with that. ”