Preview - Arkansas @ #17/21 Florida

Mario Bravante February 16, 2022

INFO
Date: Thursday, Feb. 17
Time: 5 p.m. CT
Opponent: #17/21 Florida
Location: O’Connell Center
TV: SEC Network+
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LIVE STATS

LAST TIME OUT

Arkansas Women’s Basketball won its second straight game on Sunday afternoon in Mizzou Arena, riding a 54-point second half to an 88-71 win over Missouri. With the win, the Hogs have now won six straight games over their rivals.
Head Coach Mike Neighbors’ squad put together arguably its best performance of the season on Sunday – they shot 47 percent from the field, 40 percent from three, and dominated the Tigers on the glass, 49-37.
Redshirt senior guard Amber Ramirez’s stellar SEC season continued, as she went for 25 points and nine rebounds in the win. The Splash Sister was held scoreless in the first quarter, but dominated from them on, finishing with her seventh 20+ point game of the season.
Freshman Samara Spencer was excellent in her return to the floor, going for a career-best 22 points, seven boards and four assists.
Mizzou headed into the halftime locker room with some serious momentum, as Aijha Blackwell dropped in an and-one to close out the first half scoring. Blackwell and the Tigers went into the intermission up 41-34, holding the Hogs to just 36 percent shooting from the field over the first two quarters.
Arkansas turned the heat way up in the second half, though, dominating the home team in the final two frames, 54-30. Spencer and Sasha Goforth dropped in 15 each after the break, while Ramirez chipped in with 14. The Hogs entered the fourth quarter up four, after by trailing by as many as 11 in the third period. Ramirez had several spectacular, momentum-shifting plays in the half, but none were bigger than her deep triple that beat the third quarter buzzer.
The Hogs would blow the game wide open in the final frame, outscoring the Tigers 26-13. Neighbors’ team hit eight of their 13 shots in the frame, including three of four from downtown.
Freshman Jersey Wolfenbarger registered her second-career double-double, going for 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Goforth has now scored 15+ in back-to-back games. She also blocked three Mizzou shots, her 13th game this season with multiple blocks.

STORYLINES

With 2022 in full swing, Arkansas is 16-8, and has won five of its last seven games.
Neighbors’ squad continues to hover towards the top of the NET rankings, and is 24th currently.
Most recently, the Razorbacks dominated Missouri on the road, 88-71.
The Hogs torched the Tigers in the second half, outscoring them 54-30.
Coach Neighbors’ team also dominated Mizzou on the glass in this one, 49-37.
Amber Ramirez kept on going against Mizzou, dropping in 25 more points.
Samara Spencer and Jersey Wolfenbarger both enjoyed their returns to the lineup – Spencer scored a career-best 22 points, while Wolfenbarger double-doubled (12 points, 11 rebounds).
Before that, Arkansas downed Auburn at the buzzer, 68-66.
One could argue it will stand as Arkansas’ most important win of the season – the Hogs played the game without Makayla Daniels, Spencer and Wolfenbarger, three starters.
Amber Ramirez poured in 30 points, including the winning floater with 0.4 seconds left.
Sasha Goforth also had a nice rebound game, going for 16 points on 6-10 shooting.
The win snapped a two-game skid, as the Hogs had lost to A&M and Tennessee on the road.

SCOUTING FLORIDA

Florida enters the matchup with the Hogs at 9-3 in the SEC, good for third in the conference. They were picked 12th by the media and 11th by the coaches in the preseason SEC polls.
The Gators have been red hot as of late – they have won eight of their last nine games. Their only loss since January 6 came to No. 1 South Carolina on January 30.
The teams have split the last few meetings – the Gators beat the Hogs in Gainesville in 2020, while the Hogs outlasted them in Fayetteville a season ago.
Kiara Smith leads the way for Florida – the lead guard leads the team in points (14.7 PPG), rebounds (5.3 RPG), assists (4.4 APG) and steals (2.4 SPG).
Her marks in APG and SPG are both good for fourth-best in the conference.
Smith has been even better in SEC play, bumping her averages up across the board – she’s averaging 17.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 4.8 APG.
Two other Gators are averaging double-figures in league play – Zippy Broughton (14.6 PPG) and Jordyn Merritt (10.7 PPG).

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about Arkansas Women’s Basketball, follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @RazorbackWBB and on Facebook at Facebook.com/RazorbackWBB. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel, “Kickin’ It In The Neighborhood” for an inside look at the Razorback women’s basketball program and check out The Neighborhood podcasts at CoachNeighbors.com.