Preview - Arkansas @ Texas A&M

INFO
Date: Thursday, Feb. 3
Time: 8 p.m. CT
Opponent: Texas A&M
Location: Reed Arena
TV: SEC Network
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LIVE STATS

LAST TIME OUT

• Arkansas Women’s Basketball dropped a Southeastern Conference road contest at #7 Tennessee, 86-83, in overtime on Monday.
• Arkansas, winners of its previous three games, did not trail in the first half, leading by as many as 11 against the Lady Vols. The Razorbacks took a nine-point, 41-32, lead into the halftime locker room, but a second-half surge saw Tennessee catch Arkansas late in the fourth stanza.
• Redshirt senior guard Amber Ramirez dropped in a season-best 29 points to lead all scorers. She was one of four Razorbacks in double figures as Samara Spencer added 17 points,
• Jersey Wolfenbarger scored 13 points and Sasha Goforth tallied 10 points in the loss.
• Despite being the visiting team, Arkansas looked the more at-home to start the game. The Hogs grabbed the lead from the start and did not relent it the entire first half, thanks to 14 first half points from Ramirez. The Razorbacks went on a run toward the end of the first half to further stretch the lead, and Arkansas had a nine-point lead on the No. 7 team in the nation headed to the locker rooms.
• Tennessee began to make a push in the third quarter, cutting Arkansas’ lead to five with the final 10 minutes to play. That set the stage for a neck-and-neck fourth quarter, which saw the Lady Vols take their first lead of the game with about seven minutes to play. The Razorbacks and Lady Vols matched each other blow for blow in the final stretch, as Wolfenbarger knocked down a clutch three-point shot to retake the lead, and Ramirez sliced through the lane to make a layup in traffic to keep Arkansas close. The Hogs were steady at the stripe to close out regulation, going 7-7 from the free throw line to end the quarter and force overtime at 75-75.
• Overtime was a physical affair with each team striving for a win for different reasons; Arkansas with a chance to upend back-to-back ranked teams and Tennessee looking to avoid a second-straight loss. The hometown Lady Vols were the first to make a move, but freshman Samara Spencer splashed a three-pointer to keep Arkansas within arms reach. The Razorbacks had a chance down by three with under ten seconds left, and Ramirez had a look in the corner to tie it, but the attempt fell short and Arkansas, despite controlling the majority of the game, left Knoxville with the loss.

STORYLINES

• With 2022 in full swing, Arkansas is 14-7, and has won three of its last four games.
• Neighbors’ squad continues to hover towards the top of the NET rankings, and is 22nd currently.
• Most recently, the Hogs dropped a heartbreaker, losing to #7 Tennessee, 86-83, in overtime.
• Amber Ramirez nearly willed the Hogs to the road upset, scoring a season-high 29 points.
• Before that, the Hogs got their signature win of the season so far dominating #12 LSU at Bud Walton Arena, 90-76. Ramirez was great in that game, too, dropping in 25 points.
• Both Makayla Daniels and Samara Spencer dropped in 20 points against the Tigers.
• It was the Hogs’ first ranked win since Feb. 11 of 2021, when they downed #24 Mississippi State.
• It was Arkansas’ second straight year with a win over a ranked Kim Mulkey ranked team, as the Hogs took down #4 Baylor last season, 83-78.
• The Hogs will turn around and play on the road again Thursday after a Monday night road game.
• Arkansas heads to College Station, where they will meet Texas A&M. It will be the last regular season game played between Gary Blair and Mike Neighbors.
• Blair gave Neighbors his start in college coaching, as Neighbors joined Blair’s 1999 staff as the Director of Operations.

SCOUTING TEXAS A&M

• This is the first meeting between these two teams this season, but last year, both meetings came right down to the buzzer.
• This season, A&M is the fifth-best 3-point shooting team in the country, hitting 39.1% of its threes.
• Head Coach Gary Blair was nominated for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Dec. 21, 2021.
• Blair has 50 years of coaching under his belt, and is third among active coaches and 12th all-time in DI head coaching wins (849).
• Blair became the all-time winningest coach in A&M basketball history on Sunday, Dec. 9, passing Shelby Metcalf who amassed 438 wins from 1963-90.
• Kayla Wells leads the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage, knocking down 50% of her shots from deep.
• Destiny Pitts and Wells both decided to return to Aggieland and not enter the 2021 WNBA Draft.
• The tandem made the Ann Meyers-Drysdale and Cheryl Miller Award watchlists, respectively.
• Four Aggies are shooting at least 39% from deep, with Wells (50%), Hoppie (40%), Nixon (39.6%) and Pitts (39.6%) leading the way

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.