Preview – Hogs Look to Bounce Back at Tennessee

kylie magar February 11, 2024

FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas women’s basketball team (17-8, 5-5 SEC) will look to get back on track, as the Hogs travel to Tennessee (14-8, 7-3 SEC) to play the Lady Vols on Monday at 6 p.m. CT at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. This game will be televised on SEC Network and will serve as Tennessee’s Pink Game, as the Hogs will unveil their new pink jerseys.

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Monday, Feb. 12
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Opponent: Tennessee
Location: Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center
Watch: SECN KK
Listen: Razorback Sports Network from Learfield
Arkansas Game Notes
Tennessee Game Notes
Live Stats

STORYLINES

Arkansas women’s basketball could not close out at Florida, 85-81, as the Hogs went into the fourth quarter of the game up 10. The Hogs are now 5-5 in the SEC with six games left in the regular season
With both teams coming off losses, Arkansas will face Tennessee on Monday night
Tennessee has a big edge over Arkansas in the series, leading the Hogs 34-5, and the Hogs will look to snap a four-game losing skid to the Lady Vols
In the SEC standings, Arkansas is in seventh
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 per game (36.3) and is second in 3-pointers per game (2.6) and free throw percentage (.838)
Saylor Poffenbarger is one of the top defensive rebounders in the country. She leads the SEC in defensive rebounds/game (9.9) and is second in rebounds/game (12.1), which are second and fourth in the NCAA. She has pulled down 291 boards, which surpasses the total she had all season as a redshirt freshman in 2022-23 (255)
Samara Spencer leads the team with 90 assists. Her 340 career assists is No. 11 on the career list and her 1,256 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 (2.2 per game) and her 3.4 blocks per game in SEC contests paces the SEC. She is No. 5 on the individual season block list at Arkansas
Makayla Daniels is an elite defender and leads the team with 44 steals. She is the highest scoring point guard in school history with 1,769 points, which is the sixth most in school history, while holding a program’s most starts and games played records with 147, as well as career minutes (4,312). 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 (30.2), a number that is second in the country

SCOUTING TENNESSEE

Tennessee enters Monday with a 14-8 record, 7-3 in SEC play
In the SEC Preseason Polls, Tennessee was picked to finish third in the media and coaches polls. Last season, the Lady Vols finished 25-12 and made it to the NCAA Sweet 16 after defeating Saint Louis (W, 95-50) and Toledo (94-47) before losing to No. 4/5 Virginia Tech (L, 73-64) in the Seattle Regional
On the SEC Preseason Team, Rickea Jackson was tabbed to the First Team in both polls, Jewel Spear was picked on the Second Team of both and Tamari Key was a Preseason Second Team choice by the coaches
Jackson is coming off last year having earned All-SEC and All-America Honorable Mention honors, averaging 19.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Wake Forest transfer Spear is a two-time All-ACC Team recipient and averaged 15.6 points and 3.3 rebounds in 2022-23
Key’s season ended prematurely last season due to blood clots in her lungs. She has a UT record of 119 blocks in a season and is an SEC All-Defensive Team and Second Team choice
Jackson is one of the most dominant players in the country, leading the Lady Vols in scoring with 18.4 points per game along with 8.0 rebounds per game this season
Jasmin Powell paces the Lady Vols with 91 total assists and 22 steals
Key has blocked a team-leading 29 shots in just 13.7 minutes/gm as her minutes have increased in SEC play
Spear is one of the top 3-point shooters in the league, splashing in 45 from beyond the arc for a .354 percentage
Head coach Kellie Harper is in her fifth season leading her alma mater, where she played from 1995-99 and won three straight NCAA Titles (1996-98). Harper has tallied over 100 wins at Tennessee, and is coming off having led UT to back-to-back NCAA Sweet 16s, being one of seven coaches to do so in the past two seasons

HISTORY AGAINST THE LADY VOLS

Tennessee leads in the series 34-5, as Monday’s game marks the 40th of the all-time series
The Lady Vols have a four-game winning streak in the series, and Arkansas is 2-8 in the past 10 meetings
Arkansas is 2-16 in Knoxville
Head coach Mike Neighbors is 2-5 in his head coaching career against Tennessee
Arkansas fell to Tennessee at home, 87-67, after a slow start, in which the Hogs were outscored 25-9 in the first quarter. Spencer logged a near double-double with 10 points and nine assists in that game

LAST TIME OUT

Arkansas took a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter at Florida, but was outscored 24-10 in the final 10 minutes to fall, 85-81
The Hogs also had a 35-point second quarter and went 20-of-20 from the free throw line in the game
Daniels finished with a season-high 26 points behind 8-of-12 shooting from the field, 5-of-6 from beyond the arc and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. She also added three rebounds, three assists and two steals
Scott logged her 12th 20+-point game at Arkansas with 20 points and two assists
Poffenbarger earned her eighth double-double of the season behind 15 points and 12 rebounds
Dauda had five points, nine rebounds and one block
The Hogs made 11 3-pointers for the 14th 10+ 3-pointer game of the season

UPCOMING

Arkansas will be off on Thursday, Jan. 15, and will be back to action on Sunday, Feb. 18 to host Missouri at Bud Walton Arena for a 3 p.m. tipoff. The game will be televised on SEC Network.

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.