Razorbacks let lead slip away again, lose in OT

Arkansas guard Makayla Daniels dribbles the ball during a game against South Florida on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in San Diego.

For a second straight day, the University of Arkansas women’s basketball team let a late lead slip away and suffered a loss.

Arkansas (13-2) held a three-point lead over South Florida (11-4) with 17 seconds left in regulation Wednesday, but the Bulls were able to force overtime and upset the Razorbacks 66-65 in the San Diego Invitational third-place game.

“It’s not ever one play,” Arkansas Coach Mike Neighbors said. “It’s not ever a specific play. It’s an accumulation of things that happen throughout the entire 45 minutes. We had a lot of opportunities. We had really, really good moments, and we had some really, really bad moments. We’ve learned a lot on this trip that I think will prepare us for the SEC play that’s right around the corner.”

Arkansas surged to a 27-18 halftime lead after going on an 11-0 run during the second quarter. South Florida scored just 5 points over a 14-minute stretch, and the Razorbacks scored 8 points off 11 turnovers in the half.

But the Bulls reversed course in the third quarter. Elena Tsineke scored 12 points off 5-of-6 shooting, hitting both three-pointers she took in the quarter. The senior guard hit a free throw with three minutes left to give the Bulls a 41-40 advantage, their first since the game’s early stages.

The lead was stretched to 45-40 on Tsineke’s second three-pointer, but the Razorbacks closed the quarter on a 6-0 run. Two free throws by Makayla Daniels gave Arkansas a 46-45 lead entering the fourth quarter. South Florida shot 71.4% in the third quarter and outscored the Razorbacks 27-19.

The teams traded the lead in the fourth quarter. Arkansas senior forward Erynn Barnum scored six straight points to give the Razorbacks a 56-53 lead, but Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu answered with back-to-back layups to reclaim the advantage for South Florida.

Chrissy Carr hit a three-pointer to give Arkansas a 59-57 lead with two minutes left. After South Florida tied it on another Fankam Mendjiadeu layup, the Razorbacks hit three straight free throws to go ahead 62-59.

South Florida’s Maria Alvarez was fouled by Rylee Langerman on a shot from behind the arc with 17 seconds left, and she made all three free throws to tie the game at 62-62. The game went into overtime after Arkansas was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer.

The Bulls started overtime on a 4-1 run, but a pair of free throws by Samara Spencer with 1:01 remaining brought Arkansas back within 66-65. After rebounding a South Florida miss with 30 seconds left, the Razorbacks had two chances to take the lead, but came up empty on both tries. Daniels and Carr each missed contested shots, and the Bulls escaped with the win.

Barnum and Daniels led the Razorbacks with 21 and 20 points, respectively, while Tsineke had a game-high 23 points.

It was South Florida’s second straight overtime game. The Bulls nearly upset No. 3 Ohio State on Tuesday night, but blew a six-point lead during the last minute of overtime and lost 88-86. South Florida has been a tough out all season for teams. The Bulls defeated then-No. 22 Texas on the road on Dec. 2.

“Anybody that doesn’t know about South Florida is just not paying attention,” Neighbors said. “They won at Texas. I mean, they go down there and win in [Texas Coach] Vic Schaefer’s new gym.”

It was the second loss in a row for the Razorbacks after starting the season 13-0. Arkansas let a fourth quarter lead slip away Tuesday against No. 16 Oregon and fell 85-78.

“Losses have a tendency to help you learn faster because they hurt more,” Neighbors said. “You can learn through losses. I don’t ever want to do it, but I think it’s part of sports.”

Arkansas opens SEC play against LSU on Dec. 29 at Walton Arena in Fayetteville.