FAYETTEVILLE — Tennessee led wire-to-wire and defeated the University of Arkansas women’s basketball team 87-67 on Thursday night at Walton Arena.
It was a missed opportunity for Arkansas (19-9, 6-7 SEC) to add a quality win to its NCAA Tournament resume, as the Lady Volunteers entered 18th in the NET rankings. Tennessee (19-9, 11-2) led for all but 14 seconds of the game.
“I told her [Tennessee Coach Kellie Harper] in the handshake line, outside of the butt kicking we took at South Carolina, they’re as good as any team we’ve played,” Arkansas Coach Mike Neighbors said. “I think they’re going to be the 10th team that we’ve played that’s going to be in the NCAA Tournament. And they’re as good as anybody.”
Harper and the Lady Vols jumped out to a 14-2 lead four minutes into the game.
“It was a jolt,” Neighbors said of the large early deficit. “I thought we settled in and then we played better from that point on. But this isn’t like volleyball where you can lose the first set 25-9, everybody clap and reset, and then you go back and try to win the next three sets. That first three minutes could be the difference, and that was tonight.”
Rickea Jackson, who entered as the SEC’s third-leading scorer, made her impact felt early and often. She knocked down a three-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer to put the Lady Vols ahead 25-9. It was one of many plays she made during a 25-point performance.
“She’s so versatile” Neighbors said of Jackson. “You can’t guard her one way or with one person … and she’s a willing passer, too. The second you start thinking you’re going to go double her, then she’s kicking it out to those kids for those threes. She plays with a really high level of IQ. She knows the game.”
Tennessee held Arkansas to 26.5% shooting in the first half and led 44-22 at halftime. The Razorbacks outscored the Lady Vols in the final 20 minutes but had already dug too large a hole to climb out.
“It’s a really good win for our team,” Harper said. “This is a tough team to play against because of how well they score. I’m just proud of our team defensively, especially in the first half, just setting the tone. And we were able to keep pace with them scoring in second half to keep that lead. I’m proud of our team.”
Despite the 20-point loss, Neighbors said he was pleased with his team’s fight, especially in the second half. Arkansas was much better offensively after the break and scored 45 points off 44% shooting.
Erynn Barnum led the Razorbacks with 25 points, 16 of which came after halftime. Samara Spencer finished with 10 points and 9 assists.
“I’m not sure we had anybody that really quit,” Neighbors said. “We just couldn’t get the job done tonight. And that happens against teams that are as good as Tennessee.”
With three games left in the regular season, Neighbors’ team is probably on the bubble to reach the NCAA Tournament.
“I believe to show some fight … that allows us to be able to sleep tonight and wake up tomorrow refreshed and ready to go try to get these last three,” Neighbors said.