Preview – Hogs Host Missouri Sunday Afternoon

kylie magar February 17, 2024

FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas women’s basketball team (17-9, 5-6 SEC) is set to host Missouri (11-13, 2-9 SEC) in both teams’ second matchup of the season and eighth in the past three years on Sunday for a 3 p.m. tipoff. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network and will be dedicated toward celebrating Black History Month.

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Sunday, Feb. 18
Time: 3 p.m.
Opponent: Missouri
Location: Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Promotions: Celebrating Black History Month, Junior Spirit Day and student point game
Watch: SECN
Listen: Razorback Sports Network from Learfield
Arkansas Game Notes
Missouri Game Notes
Live Stats

STORYLINES

The Arkansas women’s basketball team is coming off its first consecutive losses on the season, most recently falling at Tennessee, 81-55, on Monday night and having a bye Thursday
Arkansas is set to face Missouri for the second time this season, this time at Bud Walton Arena in the home-and-away series. The Hogs beat the Tigers 67-58 in Columbia three weeks ago to extend Arkansas’ winning streak over Missouri to 11 games along with a 22-12 advantage in the all-time series
In the SEC standings, Arkansas is in seventh with a 5-6 mark
Taliah Scott, who is back in full swing after missing six games due to injury, 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. She also leads the league in minutes/game (36.43) and is second in 3-pointers/game (2.6) and third in free throw percentage (.838)
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 fourth in the NCAA. She has pulled down 298 boards, which surpasses the total she had all season as a redshirt freshman in 2022-23 (255)
Samara Spencer leads the team with 94 assists. Her 344 career assists is No. 11 on the career list and her 1,265 points is No. 21 on the all-time scoring list
Maryam Dauda has made a big jump this season, pacing the team with 63 blocks, which is third in the league (2.42 per game), and her 3.09 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 46 steals. She is the highest scoring point guard in school history with 1,777 points, which is the sixth most in school history, while holding a program’s most starts and games played records with 148, as well as career minutes (4,350). 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 eighth in the NCAA, and 3-point attempts per game (30.3), a number that is second in the country

SCOUTING MISSOURI

Missouri is 11-13 with a 2-9 record in SEC play, coming off their second bye of the season
In the SEC Preseason Polls, Missouri was picked to finish 11th in the media and coaches polls. Missouri finished 18-14, ninth in the league with a 6-10 record. The Tigers qualified for the Postseason WNIT and beat Illinois State in the first round at home (W, 61-51) before dropping its game at eventual WNIT Champion Kansas (L, 75-47) in the second round
Fifth-year, Hayley Frank was chosen to the SEC Preseason First team by the league’s coaches after being tabbed to the league’s First Team in 2022-23 during a season, in which she paced the team in scoring (15.4 points per game) and blocks (19)
Frank continues to lead the squad with 17.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. She also has a team’s most 12 blocks
Mama Demebele is coming off a triple-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists vs. Auburn. She paces the team and league with 157 assists for 6.8 per game, as well as 73 steals, which is second in the SEC
Ashton Judd has logged 13.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game
Freshman Grace Slaughter has started in all 24 games and averages 11.6 points per game
Robin Pingeton is in her 14th season at the helm at Missouri, and is the second longest tenured coach in the SEC. She is in her 29th season as a head coach with 571 wins and has led the Tigers to four NCAA Tournament berths and 10 postseason appearances

HISTORY AGAINST THE TIGERS

Arkansas has the 22-12 advantage over the Tigers in the all-time series, as well as standing 15-8 in series games played as SEC opponents
The Hogs have won 11 straight against Missouri after previously dropping the prior seven contests against the Tigers from 2016-19
Arkansas is 11-4 against Missouri in games played in Fayetteville
Head coach Mike Neighbors is 12-4 vs. Missouri in his coaching career
Arkansas defeated Missouri 67-58 in Columbia in a game that featured 14 lead changes and seven ties. The Hogs were led by Poffenbarger, who matched her career-high 24 points (she set in 2023 at Missouri) behind eight 3-pointers, which was the second most scored in a game in school history. She added nine rebounds and two assists. Spencer logged 13 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Daniels had 13 points and played all 40 minutes. Dauda had four blocks and Karley Johnson registered seven points off the bench

LAST TIME OUT

Arkansas lost at Tennessee on Monday night, 81-55, in a game where the Hogs never led
Scott led the game with 23 points with two rebounds, two assists and two steals
Dauda logged 10 points, five rebounds and two assists
Spencer registered nine points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Daniels had eight points, seven rebounds and two steals
Poffenbarger pulled down seven rebounds and Emrie Ellis blocked three shots with nearly 10 minutes played off the bench

UPCOMING

Arkansas will hit the road to play at Texas A&M on Thursday, Feb. 22. The game will tipoff at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena 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.