Arkansas rips apart ranked foe

ROB KEYS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- The fourth time was the charm for Arkansas.
Playing its fourth ranked opponent this season -- and third in its last four games -- Arkansas finally scored the upset, knocking off No. 21 Mississippi State 72-45 Thursday night before 2,869 at Walton Arena.
"It feels good," said point guard Amy Wright, who had game highs in assists (10) and rebounds (10). "What more can you ask for -- a ranked team, at home playing in front of your fans. I think we finally got over the hump tonight, showing that we can run with an SEC team and we can run with a ranked team."
Wright and the tag-team duo of freshman forward Shameka Christon and sophomore guard Dana Cherry did most of the running. Christon scored a career-high 21 points to lead Arkansas (11-6, 2-3 SEC), while Cherry added 17.
"Christon and Cherry are just two tremendous athletes," Mississippi State Coach Sharon Fanning said. "Cherry went to the bucket every time that she wanted to. Christon can shoot outside, she runs the floor, she can post up and she's a very smart basketball player.
"I feel like [Lonniya] Bragg and [Wendi] Willits, being seniors, will be looked to for leadership and their execution, but when you have two younger players like Christon and Cherry step up, that shows a lot of potential for those young ladies and something positive for this team in the future."
While Christon and Cherry eventually sparked a sluggish Arkansas offense, it was a smothering Lady Razorbacks defense that doomed Mississippi State (10-6, 1-4).
The Lady Bulldogs brought in the SEC's leading and ninth-leading scorers in LaToya Thomas (24.1) and Jennifer Fambrough (14.9), but neither found a rhythm against Arkansas' defense.
Thomas finished with 20 points, but made 8 of 20 shots from the floor. Fambrough didn't score until 7:36 into the second half and finished with seven points on 1-of-9 shooting.
"Basically, we rotated four people on Thomas and she just wore out," Arkansas Coach Gary Blair said. "And we were checking the cutters as they came across, and it was physical to get across that lane. We were laying lumber in there.
"Defensively, that might be the best we've played here in my eight years against a quality opponent."
Both teams struggled early, with Mississippi State making two of its first 10 shots and Arkansas making two of its first 16.
Celia Anderson hit back-to-back baskets and Cherry made a layup to give Arkansas a 10-9 lead midway through the first half and help get the Lady Razorbacks' offense untracked.
Arkansas closed the half by making 12 of its last 16 shots. The hot shooting allowed the Lady Razorbacks to build a 30-16 halftime lead.
Christon and Cherry keyed the turnaround, scoring 10 and eight points, respectively, as Arkansas outscored Mississippi State 24-7 over the final 11:17 of the first half.
The Lady Razorbacks also enjoyed a 24-8 rebounding advantage in the first half. Half of those rebounds were on the offensive end and gave Arkansas an 8-0 advantage in second-chance points.
Meadow Overstreet sank a three-pointer to get Mississippi State within 31-21 with 18:28 remaining, but Cherry answered with a layup off a pass from Wright, then completed the three-point play by making the ensuing free throw.
Willits helped make sure Mississippi State didn't get closer than 12 points the rest of the way, scoring all 17 of her points over a period of 11:57 as Arkansas stretched its 14-point halftime lead to 63-41 with 5:20 to play.
Christon and Cherry then sealed the victory, outscoring Mississippi State 9-4 over the final 4:08 to seal Arkansas' first victory over a ranked team since a 79-68 victory over then-No. 24 Boston College on Nov. 30 of last season.
Arkansas had lost 11 consecutive games to ranked teams since then.
"It's huge, baby," Blair said. "We're on the [sports] ticker tonight. Our kids are sky-high."

This article was published on January 19, 2001

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