FAYETTEVILLE — University of Arkansas freshmen Jersey Wolfenbarger and Samara Spencer said the Razorbacks learned a good lesson Saturday afternoon and it didn’t cost them a victory.
Spencer said the Razorbacks may have overlooked Sam Houston State in the beginning, but they used a big second half to pull away for a 92-66 win in women’s college basketball in front of 3,335 fans atWalton Arena.
“We just picked our energy up on defense, honestly,” said Spencer, who was one of five Razorbacks in double figures with 12 points. “We valued every possession on defense and I feel in the first half, we didn’t do that. A lot of the times the 50-50 balls went to them and not us, so I just feel like we valued our defense more in the second half.”
Arkansas (5-1) trailed by as many as eight points early in the second quarter, but Wolfenbarger’s three-pointer rattled in at the halftime buzzer to give the Razorbacks a 46-42 lead.
The Razorbacks used a big third quarter to take control, holding the Bearkats (3-3) without a field goal for more than six minutes and finishing on a 19-3 run to lead 70-50 entering the fourth quarter.
Wolfenbarger said the energy was at a different level in the final two quarters.
“I think we definitely stepped up the intensity,” said Wolfenbarger, who made 3 of 4 from three-point range. “I think we kind of came into this game just focused on us and not necessarily on the other team. And we didn’t go out and compete at the highest level we can compete at.
“I think it kind of bit us in the butt in the first half and we flipped it around in the second.”
Redshirt senior Amber Ramirez led with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including four three-pointers. The 6-5 Wolfenbarger added a season-high 16 points in just under 18 minutes off the bench. Marquesha Davis and Makayla Daniels added 11 points each. Daniels also contributed 5 rebounds, s assists and 3 steals.
Sam Houston State started off red-hot, making 14 of its first 19 shots but only made 6 of its next 32 as Arkansas surged to a big lead. The Bearkats and Razorbacks were tied at 25-25 after a quarter, but Sam Houston State needed two quarters to equal that total.
Courtney Cleveland led Sam Houston State with a game-high 22 points, but 17 of those came in the first half, while Damaya Telemaque added 21.
Arkansas Coach Mike Neighbors said he blamed himself for the early problems as he put too much emphasis on Belmont, which the Razorbacks host tonight at 7.
“First quarter, completely on me,” Neighbors said. “I did an absolutely horrific job in preparation for the two-game weekend. We got a little ahead of ourselves. We started working on Belmont early in the week and I don’t think you can do that with a young team and we learned that.
“I’m glad we got a team of kids that can respond thought and make adjustments. I thought after that we were the better team. I thought they were the better team for the first 15 or 20 minutes and I thought we were the better team for the last 20 to 25.”
He believed the Razorbacks had better attention to detail in the final two quarters and credited it with being player driven.
“I do think we played hard, we just didn’t have any focus about it,” Neighbors added. “We were kind of all over the place … I really give them [Sam Houston State] the credit. They established their identity and they put it on us. They were confident. They were taking it at us.
“I think our focus changed and that changed, maybe the energy. They [the players] did it. It was done in that locker room. There wasn’t anything we said on any adjustments. … That’s a really good sign for a team that’s got a bunch of young kids on it.”
Arkansas will now get set for a quick turnaround against a Belmont team that knocked off Ole Miss in its season opener. It will also be a homecoming for senior guard Jamilyn Kinney, a Van Buren graduate, has started all five games this season for the Bruins (3-2).