Preview – Arkansas Heads to Texas A&M for Big Road SEC Matchup

kylie magar February 21, 2024

FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas women’s basketball team (18-9, 6-6 SEC) is primed for an important SEC matchup at Texas A&M (17-8, 5-7 SEC), as both teams stand around the middle of the SEC standings. Thursday’s game from Reed Arena will tipoff at 7 p.m. on SECN+.

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Thursday, Feb. 22
Time: 7 p.m.
Opponent: Texas A&M
Location: Reed Arena (College Station, Texas)
Watch: SECN+
Listen: Razorback Sports Network from Learfield
Arkansas Game Notes
Texas A&M Game Notes
Live Stats

STORYLINES

The Arkansas women’s basketball team earned their way back in the winning column after defeating Missouri, 75-68, in the series sweep
With the win over Missouri, Arkansas earned its 12th straight win over the Tigers and Makayla Daniels improved her record to 12-0 over Missouri
The Hogs have earned six SEC wins for the sixth straight year in the Mike Neighbors era, something that has never been done in Arkansas women’s basketball history
Arkansas will face the Aggies in an important SEC game. The Hogs are looking to win their first SEC road game on a Thursday night since Jan. 20, 2022, when the Hogs beat Alabama, 99-71, in Tuscaloosa
The Hogs and Aggies are former Southwest Conference foes with this upcoming game marking the 40th all-time meeting
In the SEC standings, Arkansas is in seventh with 6-6 mark
Taliah Scott leads the Hogs in scoring with 22.1 points per game, which is No. 11 in the NCAA, and is the only player in the SEC to average 20.0+ points per game
Saylor Poffenbarger is one of the top defensive rebounders in the country. She leads the SEC in defensive rebounds/game (9.8) and is second in rebounds/game (11.9), which are second and fifth in the NCAA. She has pulled down 309 boards, which surpasses the total she had all season as a redshirt freshman in 2022-23 (255)
Samara Spencer leads the team with 100 assists. Her 350 career assists is No. 11 on the career list and her 1,279 points is No. 21 on the all-time scoring list
Maryam Dauda has made a big jump this season, pacing the team with 65 blocks, which is third in the league (2.4 per game), and her 3.0 blocks per game in SEC contests paces the league. She is No. 5 on the individual season block list at Arkansas
Daniels is an elite defender and leads the team with 47 steals. She is the highest scoring point guard in school history with 1,791 points, making her a top five scorer in school history, while holding a program’s most starts and games played records with 149, as well as career minutes (4,382). Daniels was selected on the All-SEC Preseason Second Team, as chosen by the league’s coaches
The Hogs lead the league in 3-pointers per game (9.3), which is 10th in the NCAA, 3-point attempts per game (30.0), a number that is third in the country, as well as turnovers per game (12.9), 20th in the country

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M

Texas A&M is 17-8, 5-7 in the SEC, going into Thursday night’s game
In the SEC Preseason Polls, Texas A&M was picked to finish sixth in the coaches and eighth in the media poll. A&M was 9-20, 2-14 in SEC last season, but brought in a great group of transfers in head coach Joni Taylor’s second season at the helm
Janiah Barker was chosen to the SEC Preseason First Team by the league’s head coaches after an SEC All-Freshman Team year having averaged 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Auburn transfer Aicha Coulibaly was chosen to the SEC Preseason Second Team by the media and coaches polls. She was named to the All-SEC Second Team as a junior after averaging 16.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game along with 54 steals and 67 assists
This season, Endyia Rogers leads the Aggies with 12.8 points per game and 93 total assists
Lauren Ware has a team’s best 8.5 rebounds per game with 48 total blocks and 10.1 points per game
Coulibaly leads the team with 53 total steals and averages 12.6 points per game
Barker averages 12.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game
A&M leads the league in defensive rebound percentage (.764)
Coach Taylor is in her second season at the helm of the Aggies after previously serving as the head coach at Georgia for seven years. She was tabbed 2021 SEC Coach of the Year and was a Naismith National Coach of the Year finalist that season
Taylor has guided her teams to four NCAA Tournament appearances and a trip to the SEC Tournament Title game with Georgia in 2021, as well as has 166 career wins

HISTORY AGAINST THE AGGIES

Arkansas leads A&M in the series, 24-15 in a series that dates back to 1981
Since A&M joined the league in 2013, Arkansas is 2-11 in SEC regular season games against the Aggies
Arkansas is 8-8 against A&M in games played in College Station
Coach Neighbors is 4-8 vs. Texas A&M in his coaching career
Arkansas snapped a three-game losing skid, seven-game regular season losing streak, to A&M after defeating the Aggies, 78-65, last season. Spencer led the Hogs with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Daniels finished with 12 points and four assists. The Hogs made a season-high 13 3-pointers and had 15 assists

LAST TIME OUT

Arkansas defeated Missouri, 75-68, for the series sweep on Sunday
The Hogs had a 20-point lead going into the fourth quarter, and despite a late surge by Missouri, the Hogs held on to win their 12th straight victory over the Tigers
Dauda led the Hogs with 18 points with 8-of-12 shooting from the field, 13 in the third quarter. She added five rebounds, four assists and two blocks
Daniels, who has never lost to Missouri in her 12 times playing the team, logged 14 points, six rebounds and two assists
Spencer recorded 14 points, five boards and six assists
Poffenbarger tallied her ninth double-double of the season behind 13 points and 11 rebounds
In her first appearance back on the court after a broken nose, Carly Keats had 11 points off the bench
Arkansas outscored Missouri in the paint, 38-26, while also outrebounding the Tigers, 35-31

UPCOMING

Arkansas will be back home to host Vanderbilt on Sunday, Feb. 25 for a 2 p.m. tipoff. The game will serve as Daniels’ Senior Day with Pack for Mak.

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.