Preview – Hogs Set for Road Game at Alabama

kylie magar January 13, 2024

FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas women’s basketball team (13-5, 1-2 SEC) is looking to get back in the win column, as the Hogs will face Alabama (15-3, 2-1 SEC) at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa on Sunday afternoon. This SEC contest will tipoff at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network.

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Sunday, Jan. 14
Time: 2 p.m.
Opponent: Alabama
Location: Coleman Coliseum (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
Watch: SECN
Listen: Razorback Sports Network from Learfield
Arkansas Game Notes
Alabama Game Notes (will be uploaded HERE when available)
Live Stats

STORYLINES

Arkansas women’s basketball came up short of overcoming a 15-point comeback vs. Mississippi State, falling to the Bulldogs, 66-63. The Hogs have begun the SEC slate 1-2
The Hogs will head to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama for the first of two times during the regular season. Arkansas’ two other home-and-away opponents this season are Kentucky and Missouri
Alabama is considered to be Arkansas’ lookalike team in the league. In the all-time series, Arkansas has a 26-16 edge, while the Hogs are winners of eight of the last 10 matchups in the series. The Hogs have also won nine straight games in Tuscaloosa
Taliah Scott leads the Hogs in scoring with 22.3 points per game and is the only player in the SEC to average 20.0+ points per game, while also leading the SEC in minutes with 36.3 per game. She is second in free throws made (74) and third in free throws attempted (90) in the league, as well as 10th in points per game in the NCAA
Saylor Poffenbarger’s presence on the glass has been something to see, as she has established herself as one of the top defensive rebounders in the country. She leads the team and the league in rebounds/game (12.8) and defensive rebounds/game (10.4). Poffenbarger is second in the NCAA in both categories and has pulled down 230 boards in just 18 games, while needing just 15 more to capture 500 career boards
Poffenbarger broke the school record for individual game rebounds with 23 against Florida State. She has had four games with 19+ boards this year, which is the only time an Arkansas player has had that many 19+ rebound games in their career
Samara Spencer leads the team with 59 assists. Her 309 career assists is No. 15 on the career list
Maryam Dauda has been a big presence in the post, pacing the team with 35 blocks
Makayla Daniels is an elite defender and leads the team with 36 steals. She is the highest scoring point guard in school history with 1,653 points, which is the seventh most in school history, while holding a program’s most starts (140) and most games played (140). Daniels was selected on the All-SEC Preseason Second Team, as chosen by the league’s coaches

SCOUTING ALABAMA

Alabama is 15-3, while starting the SEC slate 2-1, coming off back-to-back league road wins at Missouri (79-64) and Georgia (81-63)
In the SEC Preseason Polls, the Tide were chosen to finish eighth in the coaches poll and ninth in the media poll
The Tide finished the 2022-23 season 20-11 with a 9-7 SEC record to finish in a tie for fifth. Alabama was the 10th seed in the NCAA Tournament in the Storrs Regional, falling to Baylor, 78-74, in the first round
Sarah Ashlee Barker paces Alabama with 16.4 points per game
Freshman Essence Cody leads the Tide with 6.7 rebounds per game and 35 blocks
Loyal McQueen has a team’s most 56 assists
Aaliyah Nye paces the team with 63 made 3-pointers for a .443 percentage and 39 steals
Head coach Kristy Curry is in the midst of her 11th season at the helm of Alabama with 25 years of Power 5 head coaching experience, as she nears 500 wins in her career. She is one of 10 coaches in NCAA WBB history to have 100+ wins at three different schools

HISTORY AGAINST THE CRIMSON TIDE

Arkansas leads Alabama in the all-time series, 26-16, as Sunday will be the 43rd game between these two teams
The Hogs have the 8-2 edge in the last 10 games of the series and are 12-7 in games played in Tuscaloosa
Head coach Mike Neighbors is 5-2 against Alabama
In last year’s meeting, Alabama snapped its five-game losing streak to the Hogs, as Arkansas lost a heartbreaker in a 69-66 defeat. Daniels registered 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals, Poffenbarger tallied 12 points, five boards, three assists and two blocks and Spencer finished the night with 12 points

LAST TIME OUT

Arkansas fell short of Mississippi State, 66-63, on Thursday night
The Hogs were down by as many as 15 in the first half in a game that saw two lead changes and five ties
Dauda had a career day behind her first double-double with a career-high 17 points and 13 rebounds, as well as two assists and three blocks
Spencer registered 13 points, all in the second half, with six assists and four rebounds
Carly Keats is coming off her third straight double-digit scoring game, logging 12 points off three triples vs. the Bulldogs in her second consecutive start
Just shy of double digits, Poffenbarger tallied nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks
Providing a spark off the bench while the Hogs were in a big scoring drought in the second quarter, Jenna Lawrence knocked down two 3-pointers and finished the day with six points, two rebounds and one block
Daniels had six points and six rebounds and surpassed 500 rebounds in her career to become the only Hog to log 1,600 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 200 steals in their career
The Hogs knocked down 10 3-pointers, marking the ninth time this season Arkansas has logged 10 or more triples in a game

UPCOMING

Arkansas will have a bye on Thursday before hitting the road to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to face the reigning NCAA National Champion LSU Tigers on Sunday, Jan. 21. The game is currently scheduled to tipoff at 4 p.m. on ESPN.

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.