Preview – Razorbacks Travel to Columbia to Face Missouri

kylie magar January 7, 2023

FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas women’s basketball team (15-3, 2-1 SEC) will hope to extend its two-game winning streak in SEC play with a big matchup at Missouri (14-2, 3-0 SEC) on Sunday afternoon. An Arkansas versus Missouri matchup is always primed to be a good one, and the Razorbacks are coming into Columbia with a seven-game winning streak over the Tigers. The game will tipoff on Sunday at 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Sunday, Jan. 8
Time: 2 p.m.
Opponent: Missouri
Location: Mizzou Arena (Columbia, Mo.)
Watch: SECN+
Listen: Razorback Sports Network from Learfield
Arkansas Game Notes
Missouri Game Notes
Live Stats

STORYLINES

Arkansas women’s basketball has received votes in the latest AP and WBCA Coaches polls, after having been ranked for four straight weeks
The Razorbacks are coming off a huge win over Florida on Thursday, cracking triple digits with a 102-74 victory in the team’s “White Out” game. The win marked the first time Arkansas passed the century mark since 2020 when the team defeated Central Arkansas, 105-58
With Arkansas’ two straight wins in the first three SEC games, the Razorbacks are off to its best start in league play since 2010-11 (when the program also started SEC play 2-1)
A win at Missouri on Sunday would mark eight straight victories for Arkansas against Missouri, while also improving the Razorbacks to 3-1 in league play, which would be the best start for the Razorbacks in SEC play since 2005-06
Saylor Poffenbarger’s mother Amy Fordham (maiden name) played at Missouri from 1990-94 and left the Tigers with several stats in the top 10, including holding the single season assist record
Arkansas is paving its way to another winning season under head coach Mike Neighbors who has led the program to four straight winning seasons
The Razorbacks are 7-1 at home and hope to improve upon its 4-0 true road record this weekend
The team finished the non-conference slate at 13-2, with its win total leading the country for majority of the non-conference season. Arkansas played the maximum allotted games in the non-conference season with 15
The team has a well-balanced offensive attack with four players averaging double digits in scoring, almost all five starters
Samara Spencer leads the Razorbacks with 15.7 points per game and 4.6 assists per game with her 82 total assists on pace of surpassing her total last season
Poffenbarger has brought a huge defensive presence to the team, leading the way in rebounding with 8.0 per game, 126 of her 144 rebounds coming on the defensive side. Poffenbarger also ties for the team’s leader in blocks with 20
Erynn Barnum is the second leading scorer with 15.3 points per game, while leading the SEC in field goal percentage (.622), which she has for majority of the season. Barnum also is tied for a team’s most 20 blocks
Makayla Daniels leads the team in steals with 25, while also averaging 13.6 points per game
Chrissy Carr puts up 11.3 points per game and leads the squad with 37 3-pointers
Arkansas gets to the line 25.5 times per game, which is third in the country, second in the SEC behind LSU
In the SEC, Arkansas leads in 3-point attempts per game (26.9) and is No. 2 in 3-pointers per game (8.56)
The Razorbacks have outrebounded opponents in 12 games. The team’s 31.28 defensive rebounds per game is the 11th most in the country

SCOUTING MISSOURI

A Missouri team under head coach Robin Pingeton has shown they can win any given game on any given night in the SEC
Missouri was projected to finish 12th in both the SEC Preseason Media and Coaches polls
Hayley Frank was named to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team. Last season she started in all 31 games, averaging 15.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game
The Tigers are 14-2 this season with its losses coming against No. 11 Virginia Tech (73-57) and Illinois (76-66). Missouri’s most solid wins this year have come against Wake Forest (69-47), UMass (71-66) and at Alabama on Thursday (66-65)
Frank is the team’s leading scorer with 15.4 points per game along with 12 total blocks
Sara-Rose Smith paces the team in rebounds with 8.1 per game
Mama Dembele leads the team with 49 assists
Lauren Hansen is also an efficient scorer with 13.8 points per game
Pingeton is one of the longest tenured coaches in the SEC, now in her 13th season at the helm. She has led her Tiger teams to six NCAA Tournament berths and 19 postseason appearances, while being one of 34 active DI head coaches with 500+ career wins

HISTORY AGAINST THE TIGERS

Arkansas holds an 18-12 advantage over the Tigers with the first meeting coming on March 12, 1986, in Arkansas’ first NCAA tournament appearance, which resulted in a 66-65 win for Missouri
The Razorbacks are coming into this game on a seven-game winning streak against the Tigers, winning seven of the last 10 matchups
In the past six games, four of those contests were decided by 10 points or fewer
Arkansas and Missouri went head-to-head three times last season, with Arkansas winning all three, highlighted by the team’s 61-52 overtime feat against the Tigers at the SEC Tournament. In that win, Daniels earned her first career double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Sasha Goforth and Spencer logged 11 points, a piece, while Jersey Wolfenbarger pulled down nine rebounds and had three assists and steals

LAST TIME OUT

Arkansas showed no mercy against Florida on Thursday night in the team’s “White Out” game, defeating the Gators, 102-74. The win marked the first time the Razorbacks notched triple digits since 2020
The scoring was as evenly distributed as you could get with all five starters in double digits with 15 points or more
Four of the five starters registered 16 points, including Poffenbarger who also pulled down eight rebounds while playing just 18 minutes for being in foul trouble in the first half
Spencer added to her 16 points with six assists, while Daniels was fouled eight times to get seven of her 16 points from the charity stripe
We saw how Carr can attack the basket, as she delivered 16 points
Barnum played her second straight game with a near triple-double after tallying 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists
The bench was also key, as Rylee Langerman recorded eight points and Wolfenbarger registered eight points and seven boards
The Razorbacks set a new season-high in assists with 23 and matched a season-high 12 3-pointers for the third time this season
Arkansas shot 49.2 percent (32-for-65) from the field, 40 percent (12-for-30) from 3-point and 74.3 percent (26-for-35) from the line

UPCOMING

Arkansas is set to have eight days off from having a game before the Razorbacks host Vanderbilt on Monday, Jan. 16, Martin Luther King Day, at 6 p.m. Tickets for the game are still available and the game will be broadcast 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.