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COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri women’s basketball team seeks to split the season series against Arkansas with its trip to Fayetteville, Ark. Sunday. Tipoff from Bud Walton Arena is set for 2 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on SECN+ and KTGR.
The Tigers enter the tilt with a 15-9 overall record with a 4-7 mark against SEC foes following Sunday’s loss to Alabama, 76-69. In its second matchup against the Crimson Tide this season, Mizzou controlled the pace through the first half, leading by as many as nine points. Entering the half, the Tigers held a 30-27 advantage.
Alabama claimed the lead in the second half, though Mizzou fought valiantly all the way through the final buzzer. The deficit never grew to double-digits, and the Tigers scored eight points in the final 0:26 while trying to mount a final surge.
Senior forward Hayley Frank continued her recent tear by tying season highs in points and rebounds with 26 and seven, respectively. Following 20-point performances against Kentucky and Vanderbilt in the Tigers’ two previous matchups, Frank has strung together three consecutive outings of 20+ points for the first time in her career.
A bulk of Frank’s points came from the charity stripe Sunday, as she shot a perfect 11-of-11 from the free-throw line, setting career highs in both made free throws and free throws attempted. Her 11 made free throws also stand as the most made by a Tiger this season.
Graduate guard Haley Troup also had a standout performance, chipping in 13 points in her second-consecutive double-digit scoring contest. Most of her damage was done from distance, where Troup shot a perfect 3-of-3 from 3-point land.
Off the bench, freshman Ashton Judd tied a career-high 12 points while knocking down all five of her field goal attempts. After junior guard Sara-Rose Smith posted a perfect 6-of-6 shooting night against Vanderbilt in the Tigers’ prior contest, the Tigers have had a 100-percent shooting performance with at least five attempts in back-to-back games.
As the Razorbacks and Tigers set to clash for the 33rd time in the all-time series, Arkansas leads 19-13 and have won the last eight contests dating back to 2019. This includes a Jan. 8 showdown at Mizzou Arena, where the Razorbacks handed Mizzou its first conference loss of the campaign. In that contest, Troup buoyed the Tigers offensively by tying a career-high 24 points.
Arkansas enters Sunday’s battle at 18-8 overall with a 5-6 standing in conference action. Since beating Mizzou in January, the Razorbacks have a 2-5 record, albeit through many close losses. In losses against SEC frontrunners No. 3 LSU, Alabama and Ole Miss, the Razorbacks were defeated by one possession.
With head coach Mike Neighbors on the bench for his fifth season, he has accumulated a 114-71 record during his stint in Fayetteville. Neighbors is seeking to lead the Razorbacks into the NCAA Tournament for four-consecutive seasons for the first time in program history, if you include the 2019-20 season, where the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
On the scoresheet, the Hogs have four players who average double figures in the point column, led by senior forward Erynn Barnum. Her 16.5 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per contest both lead the team, and she ranks 20th in the nation in field goal percentage with a 58.5% clip.
In her last contest against Mizzou, Barnum notched her second double-double of the campaign with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
The Arkansas offense is one of the most productive in the SEC, ranking fourth in the conference by scoring 74.2 points per game. The Razorbacks succeed by taking care of the basketball with the second-fewest turnovers per game (13.9) and attempting the most 3-point field goal attempts per game (26.1) in the SEC.
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