 
|
RETURN to main page
TCU unable to spoil UA women's partyROB KEYSARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Lady Razorbacks gave each other gifts at the team Christmas party Friday night. Saturday night, TCU gave Arkansas a scare -- at least for a half. Arkansas used a 14-0 run in the opening minutes of the second half to blow open a close game, then withstood a late TCU rally en route to an 81-65 victory before 2,006 at Walton Arena. "That was the ballgame right there," Arkansas Coach Gary Blair said of the run, which covered 3:25. "I said [at halftime], 'Attack the basket and follow through.' What we've got to do to be successful is basket attack." It was the seventh consecutive victory for Arkansas (8-3), which opens SEC play Tuesday at South Carolina. Freshman Shameka Christon of Hot Springs led four Lady Razorbacks with at least 12 points, scoring 16. Christon also had a game-high nine rebounds. Dana Cherry and Lonniya Bragg added 15 points each and Wendi Willits scored 12. All four of those players scored during the second half-opening, 14-0 run. Cherry started the spurt with a layup and Christon followed with a 5-footer in the lane. Bragg scored on a layup and Willits added a 16-foot jumper before Bragg and Cherry converted three-point plays in 12 seconds for a 53-33 Arkansas lead with 16:35 to play. "We just had to come out [in the second half] and get the job done, and that's what we did," Cherry said. Ashanti Nix ended the TCU scoring drought with a driving layup with 16:18 to play, but the Horned Frogs didn't get closer than 10 points the rest of the way. TCU (7-4) trimmed what was a 21-point Arkansas lead to 12, 11 and 10 points on three consecutive possessions late in the game, but Arkansas had an answer each time. Amy Wright countered two TCU scores with shots in the lane to keep Arkansas ahead 72-59 with 4:05 to play. "She had to shoot," Blair said. "Those were the shots that were coming within the offense. She's very good at penetrating and hitting the midrange jumper." Willits then answered a three-pointer by Jill Sutton with her only three-pointer of the game to give Arkansas a 75-62 lead with 3:39 remaining. TCU didn't get closer than 11 in the final 2:18. The Horned Frogs were led by Ebony Shaw's 16 points. Sutton added 13 and Amy Porter 10. All nine players who saw action for Arkansas scored, and the team shot 51.6 percent (32 of 62) from the field, outrebounded TCU 37-36 and forced 23 turnovers. Those numbers helped the Lady Razorbacks overcome a 3-for-13 night from three-point range and a 14-for-25 effort at the free-throw line. Arkansas led by as many as nine points in the first half before settling for a 39-33 halftime advantage. TCU cut a 35-28 deficit to 35-33 on a pair of free throws by Tricia Payne and a three-pointer by Sutton. Arkansas got a short jumper in the lane from Celia Anderson, and Christon scored on a putback 1.4 seconds before halftime to give the Lady Razorbacks a six-point cushion.
This article was published on December 31, 2000RETURN to main page
Copyright and permissions Copyright © 2000, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. |
