UA women respond emphatically

Arkansas' Devin Cosper goes up for a shot during a game against Texas-Arlington on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017, in Fayetteville.
Arkansas' Devin Cosper goes up for a shot during a game against Texas-Arlington on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017, in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas women's basketball Coach Mike Neighbors said his team needed a challenge, and the Razorbacks responded to one Sunday afternoon in Walton Arena.

The University of Arkansas, Fayetteville finished the game on a 39-13 run over the final 12 minutes after Texas-Arlington pulled within eight to claim a 91-57 victory.

"I think they got us going," Neighbors said. "I think this team is one of those teams like the great racehorses sometimes that kinda need to see that opponent running with them to get going. I'm not saying it's a great quality to have. It would be OK to be a front-runner and get out there and blow away a lead.

"But I think sometimes we need to see that. We need to take a body blow or a shot to the jaw to get us going. And I thought when they punched and they got excited, we got excited right back. We were composed about it and went about our business, and I thought we dominated the last 14 or 15 minutes of the game."

Raven Northcross-Baker heated up from the perimeter to help the Razorbacks (8-3) pull away from the bigger Mavericks. The junior from Malvern came off the bench to score a game-high 22 points, including 6 of 8 from three-point range.

Texas-Arlington (5-5) got within 52-44 thanks a 7-2 spurt finished on Shelby Richards' three-pointer with 2:18 left in the third quarter.

The Razorbacks responded with 11 points in the final 1:51 of the third quarter, then opened the fourth quarter with three consecutive three-pointers, including back-to-back from Northcross-Baker for a 72-46 lead with 8:29 left.

Neighbors said he sees how well Northcross-Baker shoots in practice, but it hadn't shown up in games much.

"She's a confident kid, bur she is streaky, and when she gets one or two to go then everything starts feeling good," Neighbors said. "When you see that follow through, she holds that follow through just a little extra longer, then you start running plays for her. Teammates start trying to find her."

That's what happened against Texas-Arlington as she made 8 of 11 shots from the floor.

Malica Monk added 20 points, including 12 of 12 from the free-throw line. Jailyn Mason added 15 points and 7 assists, and Keiryn Swenson chipped in 10 off the bench for the Razorbacks.

Northcross-Baker, a 5-7 junior college transfer from Chipola College, tries to provide a spark off the bench. She did that Sunday, but other aspects of her game led to the offense, she said.

"The thing I just hammer myself about is defense, defensive intensity," said Northcross-Baker, who added 3 assists and 3 steals in 27 minutes. "If I can get my teammates going defensively, then we're gonna knock down shots eventually. When I first came in, I had two assists and once I got my assists going I knew it was going to be a good night because I was finding my teammates, and I knew they were gonna find me."

Rebekah VanDijk, a 6-5 senior, led the Mavericks with 14 points, while Richards added 12 and Laurynn McGowen chipped in 10.

SOUTHLAND MEN

MOREHEAD STATE 98, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 94 (OT)

The University of Central Arkansas overcame a 21-point second-half deficit to force overtime but fell to Morehead State in Morehead, Ky., on Sunday.

Trailing 51-30 with 14:26 left, senior guard Jordan Howard started an 8-0 run for the Bears with a three-pointer and redshirt freshman Jared Chatham scored twice off the bench to get UCA within 51-38 with 13:00 left.

Morehead State would maintain a lead of at least 13 points until the 5:58 mark when Thatch Unruh made a three-pointer to make it 64-54. Howard's three-pointer with 5:33 left made it 64-57. Trailing 67-61 with 3:15 left, Deandre Jones made a three-pointer to close it to 67-64.

Hayden Koval's three-pointer tied it a 71-71 with 1:38 left. Trailing 75-72 with 1:04 left, Mathieu Kamba made two free throws to close the deficit to 75-74 before three Morehead State free throws made it 78-74 with 29 seconds left. Unruh's tip in with 19 seconds left close the gap to 78-76, and Koval's dunk with one second left sent the game to overtime at 78-78.

In overtime, the Bears led 86-84 on a layup by Howard with 2:43 left before Jordan Walker made a a three-pointer with 2:23 left to put the Eagles ahead for good at 87-86. Morehead State would push the lead to 94-84.

Central Arkansas made one last charge when Howard made a three-pointer with 21 seconds left to close it to 94-92. Maleek Green's dunk with 16 seconds pushed the lead to four before Howard's layup with seven seconds left closed it to 96-94. Walker sealed the victory with two free throws one second later.

Howard led the Bears (6-6) with 32 points. Kamba had 19 and Unruh had 10. The Bears shot 44.9 percent (35 of 78) from the floor, including 10 of 33 on three-pointers. Morehead State shot 30 of 59 from the floor, outscored Central Arkansas 30-14 from the foul line, outrebounded Central Arkansas 47-33 and won despite committing 28 turnovers to the Bears' 19.

Walker led the Eagles (4-6) with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

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