Dungee, Neighbors get top weekly national honors from ESPN

Arkansas’ Chelsea Dungee and coach Mike Neighbors earned national recognition today after a historic week for Arkansas women’s basketball sweeping national honors.

Dungee was named ESPN’s National Player of the Week, while Neighbors was named ESPN’s National Coach of the Week.

Dungee put on one of the greatest Razorback performances of all time, regardless of sport, Thursday night against UConn.

She scored 37 points against the Huskies, the most by any player against them since the 1999-2000 season. She did so on an incredibly efficient line — 13-21 from the field, 4-5 from three and 7-10 from the free throw line.

The redshirt senior guard has now scored 37+ points four times in her career, the most such performances in program history — 41 against Auburn (2-7-19); 37 against Houston (3/21/19); 38 against Mizzou (1-12-10); and 37 against UConn (1-28-21). Of the 11 37+ point performances from Hogs ever seen in Bud Walton Arena, men’s or women’s hoops, Dungee now has four of them.

That matches Mason Jones’ mark of four such games.

Dungee also chipped in with 16 points in the Hogs’ win over Auburn Sunday. Despite trailing by as many as 13 in the early part of the second quarter, Dungee and the Hogs went on a blistering 22-4 run in the second quarter to take back control of that game.

Her 16 points kept her double-digit scoring streak alive, as the Sapulpa, Okla. product has now scored 10+ in 23 straight games.

Neighbors’ offense, meant to give the Hogs a puncher’s chance against anyone on any given night, delivered a knockout on Thursday against UConn.

Arkansas’ 90 points scored was the most by any opponent since 2001, and the Hogs’ 52 percent mark from the field against UConn was the highest FG percentage allowed by the Huskies since 2011.

Only eight teams have beaten UConn since 2012 — Baylor, Louisville, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Oregon, South Carolina, Stanford, and now, Neighbors’ Razorbacks.

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.