BERKELEY, Calif. — Arkansas dropped its first game of the season at California, losing a tightly contested game, 84-80.
The Hogs held a one-point lead with just under four to go in the final quarter, but Cal pulled it out late.
Redshirt junior guard Chelsea Dungee was excellent again, going for 24 points on seven of 18 shooting. Dungee was great from the line, going a perfect nine of nine at the stripe.
Turning point
Arkansas closed hard in the final four minutes of the game, coming to a head when Alexis Tolefree dropped off a gorgeous pass to Erynn Barnum, who finished while getting fouled.
Barnum missed the free throw, but Cal’s lead was be just one, 77-76, with 3:38 to go in the game. Tolefree hit a runner to put the Hogs up 78-77, but Cal responded with a 5-0 run to push the lead back out to four.
Tolefree came up clutch again, getting to the rack to make it 82-80 with 38 seconds to go, and that was as close as the Razorbacks got.
On the next possession, there was a scrum for a loose ball, but the possession arrow pointed towards Cal. Cal put the game away at the line from there, going on to win 84-80.
Hog highlights
• Dungee scored 20+ for the second straight game, and for the 23rd time in her Arkansas career.
• Taylah Thomas was great down low for the Hogs, going for 16 points and eight rebounds in 37 minutes played.
• Both Amber Ramirez and Alexis Tolefree reached double-figures for the Hogs, going for 15 and 11 points, respectively.
• A’Tyanna Gaulden distributed the ball well against Cal, going for a career-high six assists.
Next time out
The Razorbacks are headed to the Bahamas, where they will take part in the Bahamas Hoopfest.
Game one will see Arkansas face Fordham at 3 p.m. on Friday.
