The University of Arkansas women’s basketball team used strong defense to overcome some ice-cold shooting in its SEC Tournament opener on Thursday.
But the Razorbacks had no real answer against top-seeded and top-ranked South Carolina on Friday.
The Gamecocks overpowered Arkansas behind 6-5 Aliyah Boston and pulled away for a 76-54 win in the tournament quarterfinals at Bridgestone Arena at Nashville, Tenn.
South Carolina will take on Ole Miss, a 70-60 winner over Florida on Friday, in the semifinals Saturday.
Arkansas Coach Mike Neighbors said facing the Gamecocks (28-1), who have won 16 consecutive games, can be demoralizing.
“You think you’re playing good and you look up and you’re down 12,” Neighbors said. “We held them scoreless there for like three minutes and it felt like a small victory. But then next thing you know, it’s back to 15 or 17.
“It’s just a compounding effect.”
Eighth-seeded Arkansas (18-13) never led, but stayed within striking distance until late in the third quarter. Sasha Goforth’s three-pointer with 6:50 left in the third quarter cut South Carolina’s lead to 44-37. But that was as close as the Razorbacks could get.
The Gamecocks pushed the advantage to 56-41 after three quarters and cruised from there.
Freshman Samara Spencer, the Razorbacks’ only player in double figures with 10 points, said South Carolina’s versatility defensively makes them tough.
“Just the fact that South Carolina is such a good defensive team, you know, one through five, they’re all good,” Spencer said. “When a big switches on you, they’re still defending you like a guard is.”
Boston, who was named the SEC Player of the Year on Monday, finished with a game-high 17 points and 14 rebounds to notch her 22nd straight double-double. The junior added 5 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocked shots.
Laeticia Amihere, a 6-4 junior, added 16 points off the bench. Victaria Saxton also grabbed 11 rebounds.
For Arkansas, Makayla Daniels added 9 points and a team-best 9 rebounds, while Amber Ramirez, Rylee Langerman and Goforth chipped in 8 points each.
South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley said she was pleased with the way her team stayed strong despite shooting just 37.3% (25-of-67) from the floor and defended well.
“Obviously our shots weren’t falling and we had to continue to attack the basket,” Staley said. “We continued to attack the boards and find a way to score. I felt we did a good job of balancing our missed shots with getting to the free throw line.
“Arkansas is Arkansas. They’re going to put you back on your heels. They’re going to shoot threes. They’re going to drive it down your throat, very little in between except Ramirez. I thought we locked in for the part.
“I thought we had a couple lapses where we didn’t communicate and they made us pay. But we got a seasoned team that really locks into the personnel.”
South Carolina used its size advantage, outrebounding Arkansas 54-37, which led to 42 points in the lane and a 19-6 edge in second-chance points. The Gamecocks also enjoyed the upper hand from the free-throw line, making 23 of 28, compared to 9 of 15 for Arkansas.
Arkansas struggled shooting the ball for the second straight day. The Razorbacks shot 31.3% from the floor (20 of 64) and 16.1% (5 of 31) from three-point range.
Neighbors gave South Carolina credit, but also said he was proud of his team’s effort while playing its seventh game in 15 days.
“That’s hard to do,” Neighbors said of his team’s difficult stretch of games. “That’s why you shoot 5 for 31. That’s why we have a hard time making layups. It’s nothing wrong with our kids. It’s nothing wrong with our team. But it’s seven games in 15 days, plus travel. That’s four road games in that.
“I was proud of how our group embraced it. I was proud of how we fought [Thursday] and on no legs today fought, I think, the best team in the country.”
Despite the loss, Neighbors said he is confident his team will be in the NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks climbed two spots to No. 30 in the NET rankings after Thursday’s 61-52 overtime win against Missouri.
“There’s no question in my mind,” Neighbors said. “There’s not a metric that I’ve ever heard them talk about that we don’t pass that test. You look at who we’ve played, where we’ve played and how we’ve played.
“We went on the road, we played people. … We accepted the challenge of playing every single night. We didn’t covid-out of one thing in two years. It’s just a matter of where. We’re going to plan a party like we’re in it. I’ve been studying it for a lot of years. If I’m wrong, I’ll be very, very surprised.”
The NCAA Tournament field will be announced on the selection show that will be broadcast at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 13, on ESPN.