Arkansas’ strong fourth quarter swipes win from Mizzou

GREENVILLE, S.C. – No. 9 seed Arkansas comes back in the fourth quarter to beat No. 8 seed Missouri, 85-74, on Thursday in the second round of the SEC Tournament inside Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

The Razorbacks’ win was featured by Chrissy Carr’s career-high 34-point performance off 11-of-14 shooting from the field.

Carr opened the game with a triple before a back-and-forth battle took place for the lead. A layup by Carr followed by Makayla Daniels’ 3-pointer pulled the Hogs away, 16-9, with just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter.

The Tigers worked back in front, 21-20, with a layup and pair of free throws by Jayla Kelly before the first quarter ended.

The Razorbacks responded without hesitation as Carr cashed in 10 points, including two triples, within the first two minutes of the second quarter to pull away again, 30-24.

However, in the final minutes of the half, Hayley Frank and Ashton Judd drilled back-to-back threes to snatch the lead, 35-32.

Both teams traded buckets for the remainder of the second quarter, but a layup by Samara Spencer put the Hogs ahead before the halftime buzzer, 41-40.

At the half, the Tigers marked eight 3-pointers on 16 attempts from beyond the arc compared to the Razorbacks’ six of 13, four of which Carr contributed.

The Hogs gave up their one-point lead early in the third as a pair of free throws from Sara-Rose Smith shifted the momentum.

Arkansas didn’t back down, tying it up at 53 with 4:31 left in the third, shortly before Mizzou’s Frank nailed a 3-pointer and Katlyn Gilbert dropped in a layup, 58-53.

The Razorbacks ran away for the rest of the third quarter on a 11-3 run to take an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter, 64-56.

A rejuvenated Arkansas kicked off the fourth to quickly bring it within three, 64-41. Mizzou’s Hansen hit a triple but another 3-pointer by Carr would keep it close, 67-64.

After a Hogs timeout, Daniels tacked on a smooth three to match Mizzou at 67 with 5:06 remaining. Spencer’s layup pushes Arkansas ahead for the first time since the second quarter before Daniels drops another in from beyond the arc to stretch the lead, 72-67.

Arkansas refused to let up, outscoring the Tigers 29-10 in the fourth quarter with a 16-0 run, to claim the 85-74 victory in the second round of the SEC tournament.

Missouri (17-13, 6-10 SEC) is eliminated from the tournament.

Notables

Arkansas

• The Razorbacks made five of their 12 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
• Chrissy Carr delivered 22 of her career-high 34 points in the first half off 11-of-14 from the field and 6-of-8 from 3-point, which is also a new career-high.
• Samara Spencer got it done on all areas of the floor with 19 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
• Maryam Dauda pulled down a career-high five offensive rebounds and had three assists and two blocks.

Missouri

• Lauren Hansen logged 19 points, four rebounds and four steals.
• Hayley Frank contributed 14 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists.

Up Next

9-seed Arkansas (21-11, 7-9 SEC) will face 1-seed South Carolina ((29-0, 16-0 SEC) in the quarterfinals of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament on Friday at 12:00 p.m. ET.