NASHVILLE, Tenn. — On a snowy night, Arkansas trailed wire to wire in a 54-51 loss to Vanderbilt where neither team was particularly good offensively.
The Razorbacks (10-5, 0-2) had several spurts to close the gap but could never quite catch up to the Commodores (10-5-1-0) on Thursday night.
Sophomore guard Sasha Goforth gathered some big numbers on the tough shooting night, going for a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, both team-highs.
Amber Ramirez was also an offensive catalyst for the Hogs, draining five of 10 three-point attempts to account for her 15 points on the night.
The lid was on the basket from the start with both teams combining to shoot 22% in the first quarter. A second quarter that saw the Hogs and Vandy find some offensive rhythm brought the halftime score to 29-25 in favor of Vandy.
The uptick in offense was not mimicked in the second half, as each defense put the clamps on and made it hard for either team to apply any scoreboard pressure.
Arkansas shot 15 more times than Vanderbilt thanks to 17 offensive rebounds but failed to capitalize, and Vanderbilt got it done in the paint in the game’s most crucial moments. Of the Commodores’ 54 points, 32 were scored down low.
Arkansas’ defense kept the Hogs in it, and junior guard Makayla Daniels had a look at a three-pointer to send the game to extra time, but the shot missed wide right and Vanderbilt escaped with a defensive victory.
Hogs game notes
• Daniels tallied seven points and nine rebounds in a tough 34 minutes of game time.
• Samara Spencer dished out a team-high four assists.
• The Arkansas defense forced 13 turnovers and held Vanderbilt to a 2-9 shooting clip from three-point range.
• Goforth and Ramirez combined for 32 points, 63% of the Razorbacks scoring.
Next game
The Razorbacks will return to Bud Walton Arena to take on the Missouri Tigers on Sunday at 2 p.m. The game can be viewed on the SEC Network+.
