Razorback women hit road for 2

Arkansas' Alexis Tolefree (2) drives around Florida's Kristina Moore during a game Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Fayetteville.

— Arkansas slipped to No. 25 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches’ polls this week after splitting two home games last week.

The Razorbacks now hit the road for two this week beginning tonight at Alabama, which is coming off a big win over Vanderbilt on Sunday, and finishes the week traveling to Missouri on Sunday.

Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors said the Crimson Tide are similar to Georgia, which knocked off Arkansas a week ago.

The Bulldogs forced a season-high 20 turnovers and limited Arkansas to a season-low in points (55) and 3-pointers made (3).

“Unfortunately, if you look at them and watch them play, they can do some Georgia-ish things with size,” Neighbors said. “A combination of that with really good athletic guards that can keep us from doing things that we typically like to do.

“You look at their balance of experience, newcomers. You look at their balance of size to speed. I think it’s a really dangerous team. You’ve seen that in one-possession games against Tennessee, Texas A&M. Bad matchup for us on paper, no question. But hopefully we learned some things against people like them that we can maybe do a little better.”

The point guard combination of Makalaya Daniels and AT’yanna Gaulden combined for 31 points on 13 of 19 shooting and five 3-pointers to go with seven assists and five steals. Daniels led the way with a game-high 19, including her own 10-2 run to start the fourth quarter to help Arkansas blow the game open.

The Razorbacks shared the load scoring-wise, but that didn’t include leading scorer Chelsea Dungee, who finished with only seven on 2-of-6 shooting from the floor.

Rebounding is often a struggle for Arkansas, which often plays four guards and one post player. But 5-8 senior Alexis Tolefree is averaging a team-high 5.3 rebounds per game in Southeastern Conference play. Rokia Doumbia, a 5-9 sophomore, has also been productive off the bench — averaging 5 rebounds per game despite playing only an average of 16 minutes per game in SEC play. That’s exactly half of the minutes Tolefree’s played.

Arkansas has won five of the last six in the series, including a 72-61 victory in Bud Walton Arena last season.

ARKANSAS at ALABAMA

WHEN Thursday, 7 p.m.

WHERE Coleman Coliseum (15,383), Tuscaloosa, Ala.

RECORDS Alabama 12-8, 2-5 SEC; Arkansas 16-4, 4-3 SEC

SERIES Arkansas leads 23-15

RADIO KQSM-FM 92.1 and KYNG-AM 15-90 in Fayetteville; KFPW-AM 1230 and KHGG-AM 1580 in Fort Smith; KURM-AM 790 and KURM-FM 100.3 in Rogers

TV SEC Network-Plus

PROBABLE ARKANSAS STARTING LINEUP

POS NAME, HT., YR.;PPG;RPG

G Chelsea Dungee, 5-11, Jr.; 19.0; 5.0

G Amber Ramirez, 5-9, Jr.; 14.2; 3.6

F Taylah Thomas, 6-1, Jr.; 6.4; 7.4

G Makayla Daniels, 5-8, Fr.; 10.2; 1.5

G Alexis Tolefree, 5-8, Sr.; 14.4; 4.1

COACH Mike Neighbors (51-37) is in his third season at Arkansas.

PROBABLE ALABAMA STARTING LINEUP

POS NAME, HT., YR.;PPG;RPG

G Jordan Lewis, 5-7 R-Jr.; 13.7; 4.6

G Megan Abrams, 5-9, So.; 7.6; 2.6

G Amber Richardson, 6-0, R-Sr.; 1.5; 1.3

F Jasmine Walker, 6-3 Jr.;; 11.7; 6.9

F Ariyah Copeland, 6-3, Jr.; 7.8; 4.9

COACH Kristy Curry (110-104) in her seventh season at Alabama

TEAM COMPARISON

Alabama - Arkansas

74.8 Points Scored Per Game 84.9

64.1 Points Allowed Per Game 62.8

38.8 Rebounds Per Game 40.2

14.4 Turnovers Per Game 11.5

44.0 FG Pct. 45.0

35.0 3-Pt. FG Pct. 38.7

70.2 FT Pct. 73.1