FAYETTEVILLE — When the final buzzer sounded Sunday afternoon, the University of Arkansas was quick to clear the scoreboard as cheers from University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff fans filled Bud Walton Arena.
The UAPB women’s basketball team rallied in the second half to beat Arkansas 74-70. And, with that, Coach Dawn Thornton said the Lady Lions made history.
“Never could I have imagined what that [would] feel like to be able to beat Arkansas,” Thornton said. “I’ve played them every year that I’ve been here, and it’s been tough. But one thing that we’ve done is show improvement every year with this basketball program, and I’m just so excited to be able to celebrate this with my team.”
UAPB senior guard Coriah Beck, daughter of former Razorbacks men’s player Corey Beck, gave the Lady Lions (4-7) a 67-64 lead with 7:11 to play with a crucial 3-point shot.
Arkansas (8-3) twice cut the lead to 1 point, but UAPB senior Demetria Shephard hit a vital 3-pointer of her own to make it a two-possession game with 1:11 to play, sealing a massive road win.
Razorbacks coach Mike Neighbors said UAPB is better than its record.
“I just think that’s probably how good they are,” Neighbors said. “The way they played today, especially in the second half, they were just better than us. They may be better than us overall. I don’t know that yet, but they were certainly better than us in that second half, and probably better the whole game except the second quarter.”
UAPB guard Zaay Green led the Lions with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Beck scored 15, and Shephard added 12.
Arkansas freshman Taliah Scott scored a game-high 31 points, including 6 made 3-pointers. Makayla Daniels scored 16, and Saylor Poffenbarger contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds.
UAPB collected 22 offensive rebounds to Arkansas’ 9, which led to the Lady Lions outscoring the Hogs in second-chance points 25-11.
Thornton said she wanted to limit Arkansas’ second-chance opportunities.
“One thing that they do a really great job of is rebounding the ball and kicking it out, getting another 3,” Thornton said. “That was something that I thought that we allowed to kind of get out of hand the first two quarters, so we really wanted to buckle down and be able to put a body on somebody, to rebound, to limit them to one shot.”
Neither team shot well in the first quarter, with the Razorbacks shooting 23.5 percent from the field and the Lady Lions shooting 19.2 percent. Arkansas warmed up in the second quarter, led by Scott. After finishing the first quarter by making a pair of 3-pointers, she started the second by making her next 3 attempts.
From there, Daniels and Poffenbarger added deep shots of their own. Scott missed from deep with 1:25 to go in the first half, breaking a streak of nine-straight made 3-pointers.
Arkansas led 42-32 at halftime, but the way Arkansas shot the ball in the second quarter, it could have been worse for UAPB.
Green said the Lady Lions didn’t need to say much in the locker room before coming out and outscoring the Razorbacks 42-28 in the second half.
“We kept our composure,” Green said. “We didn’t let the score bother us. We just kept going. We didn’t give up, no matter what. I think that’s what’s always going to help us, our grit, our fight, our passion for it, every time.”
Dawn Thornton (background), head coach of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff women's basketball team, celebrates the Lady Lions' win over Arkansas at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2023, along with players Jelissa Reese (5), Demetria Shephard and Shayla Bouie (2). (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo)