Razorbacks set record for points in quarter, pull away from Wake Forest

Arkansas guard Makayla Daniels dribbles the ball during a game against Wake Forest on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020, in Fort Myers, Fla.

The University of Arkansas women’s basketball team had a record-breaking third quarter to break open a close game en route to a 98-82 victory over Wake Forest in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Fort Myers, Fla., on Friday morning.

The No. 14 Razorbacks (2-0) opened the second half with a 19-2 run and scored a school-record 37 points in the third quarter to extend a 42-40 halftime lead to 79-58 after three quarters.

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The 37-point quarter broke the school record of 35 points set Dec. 15, 2019, against Northwestern (La.) State. The Razorbacks didn’t miss much over the 10-minute period, shooting 66.7% from the floor (10 of 15), including 5 of 7 from three-point range . They also hit 12 of 13 from the free-throw line.

“Third quarter, we really got it going,” Arkansas Coach Mike Neighbors said. “Maybe one of the best quarters I’ve ever been associated with. It’s hard to get 37 in 10 minutes shooting it without a defense out there.”

He wasn’t upset with the first half, either.

“Having that game on Wednesday night proved beneficial for us,” he said. “There was no yelling, screaming, scraping paint off the [wall] in here at halftime. We found ourselves up two on a really, really good team. Even before we walked in, everybody was talking, ‘Hey, we had the pace right, now we’ve just got to clean some stuff up and execute a little bit better.’ ”

Guard Amber Ramirez led six Razorbacks in double figures with 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting. The senior had 15 points in the third quarter alone and made her first eight shots of the game, bouncing back from a season opener where she scored just three points.

Wake Forest (0-1) put 6-2 senior Ivana Raca on the 5-9 Ramirez, which turned out to be a good thing for Arkansas, Neighbors said.

“She had a really good matchup,” Neighbors said. “That’s what they decided to give us. Maybe they watched the film from the other night and said, ‘Hey, she went 1 for 10. Let’s see.’ ”

Makayla Daniels added 18 points and five assists before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Chelsea Dungee added 17 points, and Destiny Slocum had 16. Sophomore Erynn Barnum added 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in 17 minutes off the bench. Taylah Thomas chipped in 11 points and had a team-high nine rebounds.

The Razorbacks will face Florida Gulf Coast at 1:30 p.m. today. Last season, the Eagles led NCAA Division I by averaging 12 made three-pointers per game on their way to 30 victories. Arkansas was third in the category, averaging 9.8.

“All five kids will shoot and make threes,” Neighbors said. “They’re gonna shoot it as fast as we do, maybe faster sometimes. This is definitely a game that’s gonna be over 100 possessions.”