Preview – Arkansas Hosts Vanderbilt, Pack for Mak

kylie magar February 24, 2024

FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas women’s basketball team (18-10, 6-7 SEC) is set to host Vanderbilt (19-8, 6-7 SEC) on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. The game will serve as Pack for Mak to honor Makayla Daniels’ Senior Day with ceremony set for after the game. Sunday’s game will be streamed on SECN+.

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Sunday, Feb. 25
Time: 2 p.m.
Opponent: Vanderbilt
Location: Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Promotions: Pack for Mak, Character Day (dress as your favorite superhero, princess or movie character), postgame Senior Day recognition
Tickets: HERE
Watch: SECN+
Listen: Razorback Sports Network from Learfield
Arkansas Game Notes
Vanderbilt Game Notes
Live Stats

STORYLINES

The Arkansas women’s basketball team will honor fifth-year senior Makayla Daniels for her Senior Day, Pack for Mak, vs. Vanderbilt on Sunday
Arkansas is looking to get win No. 19, seventh in SEC, and to get back in the winning column as the Hogs host the Commodores
With just three SEC regular season games left and the SEC Tournament on the horizon, Arkansas is in a three-way tie for seventh with Vandy and Texas A&M
Arkansas is 12-27 all-time against the Commodores
Taliah Scott leads the Hogs in scoring with 22.1 points per game, 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 (11.8), which are second and fifth in the NCAA. She has pulled down 318 boards, which surpasses the total she had all season as a redshirt freshman in 2022-23 (255)
Samara Spencer leads the team with 102 assists. Her 352 career assists is No. 11 on the career list and her 1,313 points is No. 20 on the all-time scoring list
Maryam Dauda has made a big jump this season, pacing the team with 67 blocks, which is third in the league (2.4 per game), and her 2.9 blocks per game in SEC contests paces the league. She is No. 5 on the individual season block list at Arkansas
Makayla Daniels is an elite defender and leads the team with 47 steals. She is the highest scoring point guard in school history with 1,806 points, making her a top five scorer in school history, while holding a program’s most starts and games played records with 150, as well as career minutes (4,421). 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 (9.2), which is 11th in the NCAA, 3-point attempts per game (29.7), a number that is third in the country, as well as turnovers per game (12.6), 18th in the country

SCOUTING VANDERBILT

Vanderbilt is 19-8, 6-7 in the SEC
In the SEC Preseason Polls, Vandy was chosen to finish 13th in the coaches and 14th in the media polls
Jordyn Cambridge was chosen to the SEC Preseason Second Team by the media. She was sidelined last season due to injury, but the year prior in 2021-22, was named to the All-SEC Defensive Team after leading the SEC and nation in steals, averaging 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game with 129 steals
This season, Iyana Moore leads the Commodores with 13.3 points per game
Sasha Washington paces the team with 7.6 rebounds per game and 41 total blocks
Cambridge has a team’s most 118 assists and 94 steals. Her 3.5 steals per game paces the league, along with her 34.4 minutes per game
Justine Pissott is superb from beyond the arc, tying with Moore for a team’s most 42 3-pointers on the season
Head coach Shea Ralph is in her third season as the head coach of the Commodores and has helped Vandy get back on the national stage, edging on a 20-win season this year. Ralph led her first Vandy team in 2021-22 to their first postseason appearance since 2014, making it to the third round of the Postseason WNIT

HISTORY AGAINST THE COMMODORES

Vandy leads Arkansas in the series, 27-12, as the first meeting between these two teams was in 1992, the Hogs’ first season in the SEC
Arkansas is 9-8 against Vandy in games played in Fayetteville, winning four straight at Bud Walton against the Commodores
Head coach Mike Neighbors is 4-3 against Vandy
Arkansas played Vandy twice last season, going 1-1. The Hogs defeated Vandy in the first meeting 84-81 at the buzzer. Daniels hit the buzzer beater halfcourt shot and finished with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Spencer registered 23 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Poffenbarger had 13 points. The Hogs lost in the second meeting in Nashville, 78-70. Daniels registered a season-high 31 points in that game

LAST TIME OUT

Arkansas fell to Texas A&M on the road, 73-67, in a game that saw 13 lead changes and five ties. The Hogs took the lead with less than three minutes to play in the game, but TAMU closed the game out on a 9-2 run, while making free throws down the stretch to ice the game
Spencer led the game with 24 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal
Dauda registered 17 points, six rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks
Daniels logged 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. She drew eight fouls
Poffenbarger recorded seven points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks

UPCOMING

Arkansas will host No. 1/1 South Carolina on Thursday, Feb. 29. The game will tipoff at 8 p.m. on SEC Network from Bud Walton Arena.

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.