FAYETTEVILLE -- The 1-2 punch of Chelsea Dungee and Alexis Tolefree was enough for the knockout for the No. 23 University of Arkansas women's basketball team Saturday at Walton Arena.
Dungee poured in a game-high 32 points, and Tolefree scored 18 of her 21 in the second half to lead the Razorbacks to an 81-72 victory over Kansas State as part of the SEC-Big 12 Challenge.
Arkansas 81, Kansas State 72
Kansas State^14^19^17^22^—^72
Arkansas^16^21^24^20^—^81
Kansas State (4-4): Williams 19, Harris 16, Lee 15, Ranke 8, Beard 4, Macke 4, Goodrich 4, Carr 2.
Arkansas (8-1): Dungee 32, Tolefree 21, Ramirez 9, Daniels 8, Thomas 5, Doumbia 2, Barnum 2, Gaulden 2.
3-point FG— Kansas State 3-24 (Harris 2), Arkansas 11-27 (Dungee 5, Tolefree 4). Rebounds — Kansas State 48 (Lee 14, Williams 13), Arkansas 29 (Ramirez 7, Thomas 7. Assists — Kansas State 13 (Williams 4), Arkansas 10 (Ramirez 5). Steals — Kansas State 5 (Harris, Ranke 2), Arkansas 10 (Daniels 5). Blocked Shots — Kansas State 3. Arkansas (Barnum 2). Turnovers — Kansas State 17 (Williams 4), Arkansas 9 (Tolefree 3).
Technical Fouls: None. Fouled out: None. Officials: Beverly Roberts, William Smith, Roy Gulbeyan.
Attendance: 2,168
Arkansas (8-1) ended the third quarter with a 16-6 run after Kansas State had taken a brief lead and held the Wildcats at arm's length the rest of the way.
Tolefree contributed a pair of three-pointers in that third-quarter run that put Arkansas up 61-50 after three quarters. The 5-8 senior credited her success to the attention Kansas State paid to Dungee.
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"They were trying to guard Chelsea, and I ended up getting open shots that I happened to convert today," Tolefree said.
Even though Dungee finished with a game-high 32 points, the 5-11 junior is looking for open teammates, she said.
"When I drive and two or three collapse, we have great shooters," Dungee said. "It paid off. Alexis was shooting the ball well in the second half."
Kansas State Coach Jeff Mittie credited Tolefree with putting pressure on the Wildcats' defense.
"I think Tolefree just mixed her game up well, got the teardrop going a little bit, got the deep three in front of the bench," Mittie said. "She just seemed to have a really good look to her. Dungee's obviously talented, but I think Tolefree was able to make some individual plays in that stretch."
Arkansas led most of the game, but Kansas State took a 42-41 lead in the third quarter on a basket by Peyton Williams. But the Wildcats' lead lasted 24 seconds as Makayla Daniels hit a driving layup for Arkansas. The Razorbacks would not trail again.
Tolefree hit a pair of three-pointers to spark Arkansas' 16-6 run to finish the third quarter for a 61-50 lead. She made 7 of 11 shots and 4 of 7 from three-point range.
"I think the change in the way they tried to guard Chelsea, and Chelsea making the right reads and making the defense wrong and finding Lex," Arkansas Coach Mike Neighbors said of his team's surge.
The Razorbacks won the battle of styles, despite being outrebounded 48-29. They forced the Wildcats into 17 turnovers and held them to 3 of 24 (13%) from three-point range.
Kansas State was led by the inside duo of the 6-4 senior Williams and 6-5 redshirt freshman Ayoka Lee. Williams finished with a team-high 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Lee added 15 points and 14 rebounds. Angela Harris chipped in with 16 points.
Neighbors lauded the defensive effort against Kansas State's inside duo, particularly 6-1 Taylah Thomas holding her own against taller players.
"Taylah and Chelsea and our whole team were digging on them," Neighbors said. "They went 15 of 30 and that's the same kids that went 17 of 17 in their last game."
KANSAS ST. M FG FT O-R A PF PTS
Williams 38 8-14 3-4 5-13 4 2 19
Lee 29 7-16 1-3 5-14 0 4 15
Carr 31 0-7 2-2 1-2 1 3 2
Harris 34 6-11 2-2 0-5 3 2 16
Ranke 26 3-11 2-3 1-3 3 2 8
Beard 13 1-2 1-2 0-0 2 3 4
Macke 10 2-4 0-0 1-1 0 1 4
Ray 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Ebert 2 0-1 0-0 1-2 0 0 0
Goodrich 15 2-4 0-0 1-2 0 2 4
Team 3-6
Totals 200 29-70 11-16 18-48 13 19 72
PCT. -- FG 41.4 , FT 68.8. 3-PT. 12.5, 3-24 (Harris 2-7, Beard 1-2, Williams 0-1, Carr 0-6, Ranke 0-5, Ebert 0-1, Goodrich 0-2). BL -- 3 (Lee 1, Harris 1, Ray 1). TO -- 17 (Williams 4). ST -- 5 (Harris 2, Ranke 2).
ARKANSAS M M-A M-A O-R A PF PTS
Thomas 31 0-4 5-6 3-7 0 3 5
Daniels 37 3-6 2-2 0-2 3 3 8
Dungee 39 10-28 7-8 1-5 1 3 32
Ramirez 35 3-8 1-2 0-7 5 1 9
Tolefree 38 7-11 3-4 0-1 1 4 21
Barnum 9 0-1 2-2 1-2 0 1 2
Doumbia 8 1-2 0-0 1-2 0 3 2
Gaulden 3 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 2
Team 0-2
Totals 200 25-61 20-24 6-29 10 19 81
Pct. -- FG 41.0 , FT 83.3. 3-PT 40.7, 11-27 (Dungee 5-13, Tolefree 4-7, Ramirez 2-5, Daniels 0-1, Doumbia 0-1). BL -- 5 (Barnum 2). TO -- 9 (Tolefree 3). ST --10 (Daniels 5).
Kansas St. 14 19 17 22 -- 72
Arkansas 16 21 24 20 -- 81
Attendance--2,168.
Officials--Gulbeyan, Smith, Roberts.
Sports on 12/08/2019