Basketball (W)

Preview – Hogs Face Road Test at Florida

kylie magar February 7, 2024

FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas women’s basketball team (17-7, 5-4 SEC) will head to the Sunshine State for the fourth time this season, as the Hogs will play at Florida (11-9, 2-6 SEC) on Thursday evening. Arkansas’ sixth game played in Florida this season is against the Gators in a league showdown set to tipoff at 5 p.m. CT from Exatech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center on SECN+.

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Thursday, Feb. 8
Time: 5 p.m. CT
Opponent: Florida
Location: Exatech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center (Gainesville, Fla.)
Watch: SECN+
Listen: Razorback Sports Network from Learfield
Arkansas Game Notes
Florida Game Notes (will be uploaded HERE when available)
Live Stats 

STORYLINES

  • Arkansas women’s basketball went back to above .500 in league play with a 5-4 SEC mark after a 74-72 win over Auburn on Sunday. The Hogs overcame a 15-point deficit and scored 31 points in the third quarter to pull out the bounce back win
  • The Hogs’ win over Auburn marked the third straight one-possession victory Arkansas has earned over the Tigers
  • Arkansas is 17-7 in the regular season, which marks the sixth straight year the Hogs will end the regular season with a winning record, all under head coach Mike Neighbors
  • The team will be away from Bud Walton Arena for the next two weeks, starting with a road test at Florida on Thursday for the 44th game of the all-time series
  • In the SEC standings, Arkansas is in a tie for sixth place with Alabama
  • Taliah Scott, who is back in full swing after missing six games due to injury, leads the Hogs in scoring with 22.2 points per game, which is No. 10 in the NCAA, and is the only player in the SEC to average 20.0+ points per game. She also leads the league in minutes/game (36.1) and is second in 3-pointers/game (2.6)
  • Saylor Poffenbarger is one of the top defensive rebounders in the country. She leads the team and the SEC in rebounds/game (12.1) and defensive rebounds/game (9.9), which are second in the NCAA. She has pulled down 279 boards, which surpasses the total she had all season as a redshirt freshman in 2022-23 (255)
  • Samara Spencer leads the team with 86 assists. Her 336 career assists is No. 11 on the career list and her 1,243 points is No. 21 on the all-time scoring list
  • Maryam Dauda has made a big jump this season, pacing the team with 62 blocks, which is third in the league (2.6 per game) and her 3.7 blocks per game in SEC contests paces the SEC. She is No. 6 on the individual season block list at Arkansas
  • Makayla Daniels is an elite defender and leads the team with 42 steals. She is the highest scoring point guard in school history with 1,743 points, which is the sixth most in school history, while holding a program’s most starts and games played records with 146. 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 (9.4), which is seventh in the NCAA, and 3-point attempts per game (30.3), a number that is second in the country, as well as least turnovers committed per game (12.8)

SCOUTING FLORIDA

  • Florida is 11-9 and 2-6 in the SEC coming into Thursday’s game. The Gators have quality wins over Michigan (W, 82-65), Columbia (W, 83-81) and Texas A&M (W, 63-51)
  • In the SEC Preseason Polls, Florida was picked to finish 10th in the media and coaches polls. Last season, the Gators finished 19-15 and 5-11 in the league, rounding out 11th in the SEC. Florida made it to the Postseason WNIT Great 8 before falling at Bowling Green (L, 69-52)
  • Aliyah Matharu paces the Gators with 18.4 points per game, 50 total assists and 51 total steals
  • Leilani Correa has been on a tear in league play with an SEC-leading 24.1 points per game in league contests, which is 17.7 points per game overall
  • Ra’Shaya Kyle pulls down a team’s most rebounds with 9.2 per game, while Jeriah Warren has the second most with 4.8 per game
  • Faith Dut logs a team’s most 23 total blocks
  • Kelly Rae Finley is in her third season at the helm of Florida after previously serving as the interim coach before earning the head position in February of 2022
  • Coach Finley was named the Spalding Maggie Dixon Rookie Coach of the Year by the WBCA after leading the 2021-22 team to their first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in five years. She has lead her first two Florida teams to back-to-back winning seasons

Neighbors Media Availability Quotes: HERE 

HISTORY AGAINST THE GATORS

  • Florida leads Arkansas in the all-time series, 30-13
  • The Razorbacks have the 4-2 edge in the last six games of the series, but has a 4-6 record in the last 10 matchups
  • In games played in Gainesville, Arkansas is 4-14 with the last road win in the series coming in 2019 after an 83-73 victory
  • Coach Neighbors is 4-3 in his head coaching career against Florida
  • Arkansas defeated Florida, 102-74, at home last season after putting up 24 points in the first three quarters and 30 in the fourth. Daniels, Poffenbarger and Spencer led the team with 16 points, a piece, while all 12 players appeared in the game. The team shot just under 50 percent from the field at 49.2 (32-for-65)

LAST TIME OUT

  • Arkansas took down Auburn in a thriller, 74-72. The Hogs overcame a 15-point deficit and scored 31 points in the third quarter, while coming up with a stop on defense at the end of the game
  • In her second game back from injury, Scott logged a game-high 33 points off tying a career-high six 3-pointers. She scored 17 of her 33 in the third quarter alone, drew eight fouls in the game and played all 40 minutes
  • Daniels followed with 15 points, six rebounds and two assists
  • Dauda finished with her third double-double of the season behind 12 points and 11 rebounds with four blocks
  • Spencer delivered the play of the game with an and-1 to pull the Hogs ahead for good. She finished with 10 points, three rebounds and five assists
  • Poffenbarger finished with four points and 13 rebounds
  • Coming off the bench, Emrie Ellis delivered a big 11 minutes and tallied two blocks, while Karley Johnson played four different positions in nine minutes

UPCOMING

Arkansas will head back to the Sunshine State for the fourth time this season, as the Hogs will play at Florida on Thursday, Feb. 8 at Exatech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The game will tipoff at 5 p.m. CT on SECN+. 

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.

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