Razorbacks start slow cold from floor, season crashes to end against Kansas

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Arkansas’ (24-13) season came to an end in the Postseason WNIT Great 8, as the Razorbacks fell to Kansas (23-11), 78-64.

The Hogs were down by as many as 21 points but clawed back to make it an eight-point game with under a minute to go in the third quarter. The Razorbacks outscored the Jayhawks 31-22 in third quarter but could not close in deeper on the lead. Makayla Daniels led Arkansas with 21 points as one of four Razorbacks in double figures.

With an 139-day season, the longest in program history, the Razorbacks finish the season with 24 wins.

The Hogs came up empty on their first two possessions, as Kansas jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but Chrissy Carr knocked down a midrange jumper to get the Razorbacks on the board.

The Razorbacks went cold, going 0-for-6 from the field and not scoring for five minutes, as the Jayhawks went on a 10-0 run. Arkansas called a timeout, trailing 15-2 with 3:47 left in the frame. Makayla Daniels came up with an and-1 to end the Razorbacks’ drought and continued to score with a 3-pointer and layup to go on a 10-0 run herself.

Just before the end of the quarter, Daniels delivered a layup and got fouled in the process. She missed the free throw, as Arkansas trailed 20-12 at the end of the first quarter.

The Razorbacks fell in another scoring drought to begin the second quarter, going into the media timeout taken at 3:53 without scoring a basket. This allowed the Jayhawks to go on a 10-0 run, leading 30-12 with less than four minutes left in the quarter.

Coming off the bench, Jersey Wolfenbager delivered Arkansas’ first score of the quarter with a layup off a dish from Erynn Barnum, but Kansas answered on their next possessions with a 3-pointer to take a 21-point lead, their largest of the game.

Barnum came up with an and-1, but Kansas continued to catch fire from deep with their fourth triple of the game. Arkansas went 0-for-5 from the field to end the half, behind 38-19.

Barnum got the Razorbacks on the board first in the second half with a tough layup, but Arkansas could not find a stop on the other end, as Kansas responded with a layup.

Carr drained a 3-pointer, but the Jayhawks went on a 4-0 run. Daniels delivered a 3-pointer off a second-chance opportunity and Samara Spencer came up with a layup, as Arkansas cut the deficit to 13. As Arkansas went on a 7-0 run, Kansas took a timeout, while the Razorbacks clawed their way back in, down 44-33 with 6:07 remaining in the quarter.

Arkansas got called for a tough foul on a 3-pointer, but Spencer answered with a layup. Daniels logged her third 3-pointer of the game with the Razorbacks trailing 49-38. Kansas went on another 4-0 run, but Daniels had a response with a jumper to help Arkansas go 8-of-9 from the field during a stretch late in the quarter.

A Spencer layup cut the Jayhawk lead to single digits at eight, but Kansas got a layup with five seconds left in the frame. Arkansas outscored Kansas 31-22 in the third quarter, while the Jayhawks owned a 60-50 edge going into the fourth quarter.

Kansas opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run, forcing Arkansas to call a timeout, down 67-50, with 7:53 left in the game. Saylor Poffenbarger registered Arkansas’ first points of the quarter off an and-1 out of the timeout, but Kansas answered with a layup.

Carr brought the energy with an and-1 and Daniels registered a 3-pointer to climb the Razorbacks back to a 10-point deficit, down 72-62 with 4:08 left in the game. Spencer then made a layup to cut the deficit to nine with less than three minutes remaining, while Kansas could not score a field goal for six minutes.

That was the closet Arkansas would get to the lead, as Kansas made big stops down the stretch. Arkansas fell, 78-64 in their final game of the season at the WNIT Great 8.

Hogs Highlights

• Daniels recorded her second consecutive 20-point game, leading Arkansas with 21 points off 8-of-13 shooting from the field

• Barnum registered 13 points, while going 7-of-7 from the free throw line. She finished just shy of a double-double with eight rebounds, while also adding two assists and one block

• Spencer delivered 12 points and four rebounds

• Carr recorded 10 points in her final collegiate basketball game

• Poffenbarger finished the season with 255 rebounds after pulling down six on the day. Those 255 rebounds is the second most in an individual season by a Razorback

• Emrie Ellis pulled down four rebounds and Wolfenbarger had five points and three boards off the bench

• Arkansas went 4-of-4 from 3-point land in the third quarter, finishing the day with seven triples

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.