Winning by the numbers

ROB KEYS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Arkansas continued its streak-snapping ways Sunday afternoon at the expense of No. 15 Vanderbilt.
Senior guard Wendi Willits scored a game-high 20 points as Arkansas ended a 10-game road losing streak against SEC teams by beating Vanderbilt 68-64 in front of a stunned 3,211 at Memorial Gym.
Sunday's game marked the first time the Lady Razorbacks (12-6, 3-3) have ever put together back-to-back victories over ranked SEC teams. Arkansas beat No. 21 Mississippi State on Thursday to end a nine-game losing streak against ranked teams.
Eight days ago, Arkansas ended an 11-game losing streak against SEC teams by beating Kentucky 69-50. Now the Lady Razorbacks find themselves on a three-game winning streak, and at .500 in the SEC for just the second time in three seasons.
More remarkable is that Arkansas won at Memorial Gym, where it was 0-4, where Vanderbilt (15-3, 4-1) had an 11-game winning streak and where the Commodores are 127-20 under Coach Jim Foster.
"This [gym] has such a home-court advantage," Willits said. "For us to come in here and get a win is just great."
Arkansas got its victory largely by playing a relentless brand of defense that is becoming a team trademark. Vanderbilt entered the game leading the SEC in scoring offense (85.5), scoring margin (plus-24.6), field goal percentage (58.8) and three-point percentage (44.9).
Against the Lady Razorbacks, however, the Commodores scored just 64 points on 22-of-48 (45.8 percent) shooting, including 3 of 12 (25 percent) from three-point range.
"It's just a matter of staying intense all the time, and I think that we're really focused at this point in the season on our defense," said junior point guard Amy Wright, who scored 11 points, including a 4-of-4 effort from the free-throw line in the final 50 seconds, when Vanderbilt had cut a 60-49 deficit to 63-60.
Arkansas also got 15 points from Hot Springs freshman Shameka Christon, who sandwiched two three-pointers around two free throws each from Wright and Willits to give the Lady Razorbacks a 60-49 lead with 5:28 remaining.
Vanderbilt responded with an 11-3 run over the next 4:17, though, to pull within 63-60 with 1:11 to play.
Wright then drew a fifth foul on Chantelle Anderson, who led Vanderbilt with 19 points, and made both free throws for a 65-60 Arkansas lead with :50 to go.
Senior center Lonniya Bragg then blocked a three-point attempt by Jenni Benningfield, and Wright was fouled again with :31.4 remaining. Following an Arkansas timeout, Wright made two more free throws to send many of those in attendance heading for the exits.
Jillian Danker, who scored 17, made a layup with :20.8 to play to get Vanderbilt within 67-62, but Willits made a free throw with :19 remaining to effectively seal the victory.
Danker scored a putback basket with :03 left before Dana Cherry dribbled out the final seconds.
"Instead of tiptoeing around, hoping to get a win, you've got to go make a play," Arkansas Coach Gary Blair said. "That's what we did at the end."
Arkansas made just 20 of 47 shots, but went 11 of 19 from three-point range, stretching out a significantly taller Vanderbilt team.
"This was not necessarily an upset," Blair said. "This was just a well-played ballgame. It wasn't that Vanderbilt played poorly. Sometimes you've got to give your opponent credit -- and I've been on the other side of that fence a number of times -- and I think that's what happened."
Foster disagreed with Blair's assessment of Vanderbilt's play, but said Arkansas deserved to win.
"I think they outworked us," Foster said. "We didn't do a lot of things well, but they just outworked us. They were just much more prepared and ready than we were.
"I think we went into this basketball game thinking we were a good basketball team, that we didn't have to show up. They had an attitude that we certainly didn't have."
Arkansas built a 41-32 halftime lead mainly by making 8 of 13 three-point shots. Freshman Shanna Harmon scored all nine of her points on three-point shots in a span of 2:30 to stretch an 18-17 Arkansas lead to 29-19.
Vanderbilt opened the second half by outscoring Arkansas 16-6, and took a 49-48 lead midway through the second half on two free throws by Zuzana Klimesova, who scored 14.
Wright answered with a running one-hander, however, and following two Vanderbilt misses, Christon hit the first of her second-half three-pointers to put Arkansas ahead 53-49 with 6:55 to play.
"It's pretty embarrassing," Vanderbilt point guard Ashley McElhiney said. "We got outworked. That's what happened. We folded when they picked it up."

This article was published on January 22, 2001

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