FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas women’s basketball Coach Tom Collen said a disappointing finish against Texas A&M can’t spoil all the Razorbacks accomplished this season.
The Razorbacks lost 61-59 to the defending national champion Aggies in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday in College Station, Texas. It was the Razorbacks’ first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003, and a frenetic rally to overcome a 13-point deficit nearly carried Arkansas to its first Sweet 16 since its 1998 Final Four season.
Texas A&M retook the lead with 23.5 seconds left, and Arkansas junior Quistelle Williams missed a 14-foot jumper with four seconds left.
“If you’re going to go out on a loss, I can’t imagine going out with a loss that, for this program, that was more impressive than having a chance to beat the national champions on their floor at the last second,” said Collen, who is 93-66 in five seasons with the Razorbacks. “If you’re going to go down, that’s not an awful way to go down. There are very few times when a loss can actually mean so much.”
The nail-biter against the Aggies capped a season that saw Arkansas overcome an 0-4 start in conference to win eight consecutive SEC games. The Razorbacks finished 24-9 overall, 10-6 in the SEC, the most conference victories in program history, and matched their best SEC finish with a tie for fourth.
Collen said the Razorbacks’ 0-4 start seemed so long ago, but it played a role in Arkansas’ eventual revival. One of the losses was a 31-point home loss to Tennessee, but Arkansas later beat the Lady Volunteers in Knoxville, where the Razorbacks had never won.
“The great thing about this season is there were so many more ups than there were downs,” Collen said. “Maybe some of the downs, like starting 0-4 in the SEC, was what springboarded us to accomplish the things we accomplished this year.
“Sometimes in life, getting knocked down is the best thing for you.”
Collen said it was too early to think about next year’s team or even how the breakout season will affect recruiting. The Razorbacks will have to fill the big holes left by the departures of seniors C’eira Ricketts, Lyndsay Harris and Ashley Daniels.
The Razorbacks will have to build around juniors Sarah Watkins and Williams, sophomore Dominique Robinson and freshman Calli Berna. Collen also has high hopes for freshman Jhasmin Bowen and Joey Bailey, who played sparingly this year for the senior-dominated team.
“As much as I’m going to miss this senior class, I’m as equally excited about the foundation we’ve laid,” Collen said. “I have every reason to believe we’re heading in the right direction.”
Before the teams met, Texas A&M Coach Gary Blair, who coached Arkansas in 1993-2003, said Collen’s rebuilding work will be even harder next year. Collen acknowledged the possibility the Razorbacks wouldn’t be able to match this year’s success across the board.
“The hard thing about program building and building tradition, it’s not always necessarily a skyrocket up to the top,” Collen said. “There’s always ups and downs along the way. My hope is it will be a skyrocket.”
Sports, Pages 25 on 03/23/2012