FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas had Thursday’s game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff all wrapped up early in the fourth quarter until it didn’t.
The Razorbacks led by 16 with 6:16 to go, but UAPB, which led early and only trailed by seven at the end of the first quarter, fought back. The Golden Lions chopped Arkansas’ lead to nine with 3:27 to go, five with 2:01 to go and all the way down to three at 91-88 with 34 seconds to go.
That was when freshman guard Jianna Morris, a freshman guard out of Sherwood, hit two free throws to put Arkansas up 93-88, and after another UAPB basket that cut the lead back down to three, two more to put the Hogs up 95-90 and ice the game.
It certainly wasn’t the prettiest performance from the Razorbacks, but it was at least a winning one.
“I think we played a pretty decent first three quarters,” head coach Kelsi Musick said. “I thought in the fourth quarter we let our lead slip away because we made some careless turnovers, we took some rushed shots, and we didn’t get back in transition defense, and that cost us a a lead and allowed the game to get closer. But we also sealed the deal with some free throws towards the end of the game, which are very important.”
Morris only shot 3-8 from the field but was a perfect 10-10 from the line on a night where Arkansas, which hadn’t shot well from the charity stripe so far this season, was 25-30.
“I’ve always been told to trust my work,” Morris said, “So being able to shoot free throws and practice with those, and practice with a free throw, so just having that confidence, my teammates having that confidence in me, and me having that confidence in myself, really just going up there, knocking them down like I do every day.”
Like it did Monday against Kansas City, Arkansas didn’t play nearly as well as it will have to in conference play. But it did find a way to win a close game and make winning plays in crunch time, which will be beneficial moving forward.
“I think it kind of just proves to ourselves and the team that when things happen and adversity hits, we’re not going to quit,” Morris said. “We’re not going to back down. Like definitely today, them making a run, we could have laid down.
“I think when you look around and you see the rest of your teammates fighting, saying next possession, next play, and going down and trying to score, trying to get a next stop, and having people come in, you know, making subs, and they want the same thing. I think it kind of just sets just the tone and just the culture of what we want to do. Like we’re not going to quit.”
Freshman guard Whitley Rogers didn’t play Thursday and wore a boot on her right foot on the Arkansas bench while using crutches to get to the bench.
Musick said she is hopeful that Rogers plays against Little Rock on Monday.
“it just kind of depends on how her recovery goes,” Musick said.
Arkansas will travel to UALR on Nov. 16 for its first road game of the season. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., with coverage on ESPN+ and the Razorback Sports Network.
Sign up to our free newsletter, and follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest in Razorback news.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
