EL PASO, Texas — Lyndsay Harris and Keira Peak each scored 16 points Saturday to lead Arkansas to a 59-56 victory over Texas-El Paso in the UTEP Thanksgiving Classic championship.
Arkansas (7-0) picked up the hard-fought victory over the Miners (4-2) in a game that featured seven ties and 13 lead changes in a backand-forth track meet for the title.
Arkansas struggled in the first half, shooting just 31 percent, and the Razorbacks hit just 5 of 12 free throws in the and trailed 28-26 at halftime.
Arkansas took a 56-55 lead with 1:36 left in the game, but a free throw tied the game for the seventh time at 56.
C’eira Ricketts was fouled on the next possession and hit one of two as Arkansas regained the lead, 57-56, with 1:22 to play.
The teams exchanged missed shots and timeouts when Arkansas came away with the ball with 33 seconds to play. UTEP let 20 seconds run off the clock before fouling with 13 seconds left in the game. But it was just the third team foul, and the Miners found themselves having to foul several more times in an effort to send Arkansas to the line.
With 10 seconds left to play, Ricketts was fouled and went to the line. She hit two free throws, giving the Razorbacks a 59-56 lead andsecuring the Arkansas victory.
UTEP inbounded the ball and Arkansas elected to foul in front of the UTEP bench with five seconds on the clock, forcing the Miners to reset the offense. They got the ball in and launched a desperation three that missed as time ran out.
The Razorbacks continue their four-game road swing Tuesday with a trip to Texas-Arlington.
Sports, Pages 32 on 11/28/2010