Preview – Women’s Basketball Ready for SEC Tournament

kylie magar March 1, 2023

FAYETTEVILLE – It is the first day of March, and the eighth-seed Arkansas women’s basketball (20-11, 7-9 SEC) team is set to play at the 2023 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament beginning on Thursday morning. The Razorbacks will square off against ninth-seed Missouri (17-12, 6-10 SEC), a team Arkansas has faced twice this season, while marking the sixth matchup between the two teams in a span of two seasons. Thursday’s game against the Tigers is set to tipoff at 11 a.m. CT in Bon Secours Wellness Center on SEC Network. Thursday’s winner will move on to the quarterfinals to face No. 1 South Carolina on Friday.

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Thursday, March 2
Time: 11 a.m. CT
Opponent: Missouri
Location: Bon Secours Wellness Center
Watch: SECN
Listen: Razorback Sports Network from Learfield
Arkansas Game Notes
Missouri Game Notes
SEC Championship Central

STORYLINES

Arkansas is the No. 8 seed, set to play No. 9 seed Missouri in the first round of the 2023 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina
The matchup marks the third time this season Arkansas will face Missouri, as well as the second straight year the Battle Line rivals will play one another three times in a season. Winner of this game will face No. 1 seed South Carolina on Friday, March 3 at 11 a.m. CT
Arkansas has the edge in the first two games played against the Tigers, winning both by an average margin of 25.0 points. In the last matchup, Arkansas held Missouri to just 33 points, which marked a new record of least defensive points given up in an SEC game in program history
The Razorbacks are looking for one final push for an NCAA Tournament berth
Arkansas holds the 20-12 advantage over Missouri, 14-8 as SEC opponents, in the all-time series
SEC All-Conference awards were just announced. Erynn Barnum earned a spot on the SEC Second Team, while Saylor Poffenbarger was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team
The team is coming off the program’s 22nd 20-win season, third under head coach Mike Neighbors after beating Texas A&M, 78-65
The team started the season 13-0 and finished the non-conference slate at 13-2, with its win total leading the country for majority of the non-conference season
Barnum leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 16.3 points and is tied for the most rebounds with 6.6 per game. Her .573 field goal percentage leads the SEC, as it has majority of the season. She surpassed 1,000 points in her career and became the 18th Razorback to join the 1,000 points/500 rebound club later last month
Barnum is one of 10 candidates for the Katrina McClain Award, given to the best power forward in the country
Samara Spencer is the second leading scorer with 14.0 points per game and leads the team in assists with 133. Her 4.3 assists per game is the fifth most in the SEC
Makayla Daniels leads the team in steals with 51 and averages 12.9 points per game
Daniels keeps moving up in career top 10-20 lists, sitting No. 16 in points (1,376), No. 4 in career starts (116), No. 9 in career 3-pointers (162) and No. 14 in career assists (301)
Chrissy Carr logs 11.5 points per game and leads the squad with 71 3-pointers
Poffenbarger ties for a team’s best 6.6 rebounds per game and leads the team with 35 blocks. She has 180 defensive rebounds and needs 11 more to earn the individual season defensive rebound record
The team is second in least turnovers committed per game in the SEC with 13.7 per game
Arkansas gets to the line 23.5 times per game, which is second in the conference and sixth in the country. The Razorbacks’ 15.6 makes from the free throw line per game is third in the SEC and 13th in the NCAA
Arkansas leads the SEC in 3-point attempts per game (26.9), which is 11th in the country, and No. 2 in 3-pointers per game (8.0) in the league

SCOUTING MISSOURI

Missouri is 17-12, 6-10 in the SEC to finish the conference slate in ninth
Hayley Frank leads the Tigers with 15.4 points per game and 18 total blocks
Sara-Rose Smith has a team’s best 6.5 rebounds per game
Mama Dembele has tallied a team’s most 80 assists and Lauren Hansen has grabbed a team-leading 37 steals
In the SEC Preseason Poll, Missouri was picked to finish 12th in the coaches and media polls
Frank was named to the All-SEC Second Team
Robin Pingeton is in year 13 at Missouri, having led the Tigers to four NCAA Tournament appearances and nine postseason berths

HISTORY AGAINST THE TIGERS

Arkansas is 20-12 against the Tigers, 14-8 in SEC play
Going into Thursday, Arkansas has a nine-game winning streak over the Tigers
The Razorbacks are 2-0 against the Tigers on a neutral site, which includes a win over Missouri last season in the SEC Tournament, 61-52 in overtime
Arkansas has defeated Missouri twice this season. In the first matchup, Arkansas won in Columbia, 77-55. Poffenbarger led Arkansas with a career-high 24 points, Barnum followed with 21 points and 11 rebounds and Carr logged 16 points. Poffenbarger held Frank to just five points on 2-of-10 shooting
In the second matchup, Arkansas held Missouri to just 33 points in the 61-33 win, which was a program record in defensive points allowed in an SEC game. Carr led with 18 points, Barnum registered 14 points and nine rebounds and Daniels recorded 11 points. Again, Poffenbarger was locked in on defense, holding Frank to single digits in scoring with eight

LAST TIME OUT

Arkansas earned its way back in the win column with a 78-65 win over Texas A&M on Senior Day to clinch a 20-win season
The Razorbacks made a season-high 13 3-pointers, which is the ninth most triples made in a game in program history. Seven different players made a 3-pointer, which was also a season-high
Spencer led the Razorbacks with 19 points, five assists and four rebounds
Barnum registered 12 points and five rebounds, while Daniels had 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and two blocks
The bench added 18 points, highlighted by nine by Jersey Wolfenbarger and seven points with two blocks from Emrie Ellis

UPCOMING

The winner of this game will play the top-seed South Carolina on Friday, March 2 for an 11 a.m. CT tipoff 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.