Preview - No. 20 Arkansas @ Auburn

Mario Bravante January 4, 2020

INFO
Date: Sunday, Jan. 5
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Opponent: Auburn
Location: Auburn Arena
TV: SEC Network

LAST TIME OUT

No. 20 Arkansas (12-2, 0-1) dropped its SEC Opener, falling to No. 11 Texas A&M (13-1, 1-0), 84-77, at Bud Walton Arena on Thursday night.
Chennedy Carter dropped a game-high 28 points, while two Aggies, N’dea Jones and Ciera Johnson, had double-doubles. Jones had 22 points and
14 rebounds, while Johnson had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Arkansas had the edge from deep, making 12 threes to A&M’s six, but were outrebounded by the Aggies, 45-29.
Redshirt junior guard Chelsea Dungee paced the Hogs with 20 points, while senior guard Alexis Tolefree kept up her strong play with 18 points.
Amber Ramirez and Kiara Williams also reached double-figures for the Red & White, going for 14 points and 11 points, respectively.
After trailing by 12 at halftime, Arkansas showed great fight in the second half. The Hogs won the third quarter 22-15, going into the final
intermission trailing just 59-54. Their strong play carried over into the beginning of the fourth quarter, as Coach Neighbors’ squad opened the frame
on a 7-2 run to tie the game up at 61 on a Makayla Daniels’ layup.
However, A&M would strike back, closing the game on a 23-16 run. Arkansas would get to within three (80-77) with 22 seconds to play, but the Aggies would put the game away at the free throw line.

STORYLINES

Senior guard Alexis Tolefree has been excellent for the Razorbacks so far this season.
She is averaging career-highs across the board, including points per game (13.8), field goal percentage (.474), three-point field goal percentage (.494), and assists per game (2.2).
Tolefree’s shooting from distance has been remarkable all season, as her .494 percentage mark from deep leads the SEC, and is the seventh-best mark in the country so far this season. Only Juicy Landrum from Baylor has a higher 3PT FG percentage than Tolefree among Power-5 players.
Her 49.4 percentage mark from deep would be the best mark over a single season in program history.
Tolefree’s volume of shots makes her percentage even more impressive, as she is currently third in the SEC in 3PM, with 40.
The senior guard has been especially good over her last three games, as she is averaging 20.7 points per game over those contests while shooting a blistering 56 percent from the field and 61 percent from beyond the arc.
Tolefree has also averaged 5.4 boards a game over that stretch, the third highest average over that period on the squad.
Senior forward Kiara Williams is starting to make her presence felt as she continues to work her way back from injury.
She was good against UT Martin, going for eight points in the second half alone.
The senior was even better against No.11 Texas A&M, scoring 11 points in a season-high 22 minutes played. She also added four rebounds.
With her two blocks against A&M, Williams now has 96 in her career. That figure is good for 10th-most all-time in program history.

SCOUTING AUBURN

Auburn comes into its game against the Razorbacks at 6-6, falling to Vanderbilt, 77-55, in its SEC opener.
The Tigers are led by Unique Thompson, who has been a monster on the low block so far this season.
The junior is currently averaging 12.0 rebounds per game, tops in the SEC so far this season. She is also averaging 18.5 points per game, which is the fourth-best mark in the league, trailing only Chennedy Carter, Rhyne Howard and Chelsea Dungee.
She has double-doubled in all 12 games so far this season.
Daisa Alexander has also played well this season for the Tigers, averaging 13.5 points per game to go with a team-high 26 assists.
Defensively, Auburn has been great getting into the passing lane this season, nabbing 10.7 steals per game as a team, tops in the SEC. That mark is tied for the 39th best mark in the nation.

MORE INFORMATION

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