FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In front of an energetic, loud crowd of 7,410, Arkansas (2-0) showed out in its home opener with a 72-34 victory over Central Arkansas (0-2).
On the first Elementary Day since 2019, the crowd filled of screaming kids from local schools and the Hog faithful cracked the top-15 in best home attendance in program history.
Erynn Barnum led the way with a near double-double of 19 points and nine rebounds, while going 9-for-9 from the free throw line.
The Razorbacks began the game with turnovers on their first two possessions, allowing UCA to get on the board first after going 2-for-3 from the free throw line.
That lead UCA took was their lone of the game, as Arkansas led for the remaining 39:09 of the contest. To get the Razorbacks’ offense going,
Makayla Daniels fed Barnum underneath the basket, then Daniels made a layup of her own, as Arkansas led 8-3 at the media timeout taken with 4:32 left in the first quarter.
Although it took some time for Arkansas to get rolling offensively, UCA had more trouble, as the Sugar Bears didn’t log a field goal until 3:36 left in the first quarter. Jersey Wolfenbarger logged a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put the Razorbacks up, 16-9.
Chrissy Carr drained the team’s first points of the second quarter with a 3-pointer off a UCA turnover.
The Razorbacks were held in a scoring drought for two minutes until Daniels registered a triple, which sparked a 13-0 run. Daniels reached double digits in scoring following two free throws, ending the afternoon with 14 points. The Razorbacks held the Sugar Bears to five points off 11.8 percent shooting in the second quarter.
Arkansas holding UCA to five points matches a program record for least points scored by an opponent in the second quarter. The last time the Razorbacks held an opponent to five points in the second quarter was against LSU on Feb. 17, 2019.
Arkansas tallied its first four points of the second half off free throws. Carr helped the Razorbacks extend its lead to 26 points off a 3-pointer with 6:44 left in the third. Off the bench,
Maryam Dauda started to heat up, making a layup, as Arkansas was ahead 48-20 with 4:27 left in the frame. Arkansas outscored UCA 17-10 in the third quarter to lead 52-24 going into the final 10 minutes of action.
UCA opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers, but still trailed 54-30 with 9:02 left in the game.
Saylor Poffenbarger showed she can defend as well, tallying back-to-back blocks to then set up Langerman for her second 3-pointer of the game.
Barnum began to heat up, scoring nine of her career-best 19 in the fourth. Arkansas went up by 40 points off a driving layup from Wolfenbarger with 56 seconds left, but UCA was able to break its nearly seven-minute scoring drought with less than a minute left in the game.
Arkansas still cruised to a 72-34 win.
Hogs Highlights
• The 7,000-plus crowd is the best for the Razorbacks on an Elementary Day
• Barnum’s 19 points surpassed a career-high and after some troubles from the line on Monday, she improved remarkably, going a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line. She also logged three blocks
• Daniels followed with 14 points off 5-of-8 shooting, while adding four assists and four steals
• Dauda came off the bench to shoot 4-of-6 from the field for 10 points. She added five rebounds
• Langerman had nine points and four rebounds off the bench
• Carr added eight points and eight rebounds
• Arkansas held UCA to 21.8 percent from the field and 10.5 from beyond the arc. The Razorbacks also held UCA to just three assists
• Poffenbarger had the best efficiency on the team with +31
• Arkansas holding UCA to 34 points is the best for the program since 2021 versus Tarleton State
Up Next
Arkansas will continue its homestand, as the team hosts Tulsa on Monday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.
