Preview – Arkansas Hosts SFA for WNIT Second Round

FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas women’s basketball team (22-12, 7-9 Southeastern Conference) has its eyes set on earning a spot in the Super 16 in the 2023 Postseason WNIT, as the Razorbacks host Stephen F. Austin (27-6, 15-3 Western Athletic Conference) on Monday night. Facing SFA for the first time since 2013, the Razorbacks will tipoff against the Ladyjacks at 7 p.m. at Bud Walton Arena. Tickets are $5 for adults and the first 300 kids (12 and under) can get in free. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

GAME INFORMATION

STORYLINES

• Arkansas enters round two of the Postseason WNIT after defeating Louisiana Tech in the first round, 69-47, on Thursday. Holding the Lady Techsters to just 47 points was the least number of points the Razorbacks have given up in a Postseason WNIT game
• In Arkansas’ eighth WNIT appearance, this also marks the Razorbacks’ eighth showing in the second round, in which the Razorbacks are 5-2 in
• The Razorbacks will square off against Stephen F. Austin, who is coming off an 89-79 win over Texas State in the first round and enter Monday’s game with a 27-6 record
• Arkansas and SFA meet again for the 12th time of the series and first since 2011. Arkansas has an 8-3 edge over SFA, while winning the last six over the Ladyjacks
• Arkansas received the automatic qualifying bid to the WNIT as the SEC’s highest finisher among teams not chosen for the NCAA Tournament
• This WNIT appearance is Arkansas’ 26th in the postseason
• In the Mike Neighbors era, this is his fifth postseason appearance with Arkansas (three NCAA Tournaments including 2020 and now two WNITs)
• Only three schools in the SEC have qualified for postseason tournaments in each of the past five seasons with Arkansas being one of them. Tennessee and South Carolina are the other two
• Arkansas is coming off a quarterfinal appearance at the SEC Tournament the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Razorbacks defeated Missouri, 85-74, in the second round, but fell to No. 1, eventual SEC Champion South Carolina, 93-65, in the quarterfinals
• The Razorbacks are 22-12, which marked the program’s 22nd 20-win season, third under Neighbors. This marks the most wins for Arkansas since 2019-20 when that team had 24 victories
• Arkansas finished the SEC slate 7-9 to come in eighth in the league. Historically for the program, seven wins is tied for the fourth most wins in SEC play. Only three other seasons have the Razorbacks had more wins in conference, as Neighbors boasts two of the program’s four winning seasons in league play
• The team started the season 13-0 and finished the non-conference slate at 13-2, which was the best start for Arkansas since 2013
• On the All-SEC teams, Erynn Barnum earned a spot on the SEC Second Team, while Saylor Poffenbarger was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team
• Barnum leads the team in scoring with 15.6 points. Her .559 field goal percentage leads the SEC, as it has majority of the season. She surpassed 1,000 points in her career and became the 18th Razorback to join the 1,000 points/500 rebound club
• Barnum was one of 10 candidates for the Katrina McClain Award, given to the best power forward in the country
• Samara Spencer is the second leading scorer with 14.2 points per game and leads the team in assists with 149. Her 4.4 assists per game is the fourth most in the SEC
• Makayla Daniels leads the team in steals with 55 and averages 12.8 points per game
• Daniels keeps moving up in career top 10-20 lists, sitting No. 12 in points (1,410), No. 4 in career starts (119), No. 8 in career 3-pointers (170) and No. 14 in career assists (307)
• Chrissy Carr logs 12.0 points per game and leads the squad with 81 3-pointers
• Poffenbarger leads the team in rebounding with 6.8 per game and has 37 blocks. She is now the record holder for single-season defensive rebounds with 204, while being the first Hog to pull down 200+ defensive boards in a season (since the stat has been tracked)
• The team is second in least turnovers committed per game in the SEC with 13.41 per game
• Arkansas gets to the line 23.12 times per game, which is second in the conference and seventh in the country. The Razorbacks’ 15.65 makes from the free throw line per game is second in the SEC and 13th in the NCAA
• Arkansas leads the SEC in 3-point attempts per game (27.2), which is 10th in the country, and No. 2 in 3-pointers per game (8.2) in the league

 SCOUTING SFA

• The Ladyjacks are an impressive 24-6 with a 15-3 WAC record, while finishing second in the league
• Aiyana Johnson leads the Ladyjacks with 13.9 points per game along with 36 blocks
• One the boards, Avery Brittingham leads SFA with 8.3 boards per game, while also averaging double digits with 10.6 points per game
• Jordan Harrison is a fantastic floor general with 166 assists to match a 12.1 scoring average and a team-leading 67 steals
• SFA made it to the semifinals of the WAC Tournament, falling to California Baptist, 69-64
• The Ladyjacks took care of business against Texas State in the first round of the Postseason WNIT on Thursday with an 89-79 win. Harrison logged a career-high 28 points and seven assists in that game
• Mark Kellogg is in his eighth season at the helm at SFA, leading the Ladyjacks program to close to 200 wins, while accumulating nearly 450 wins in his career

HISTORY AGAINST THE LADYJACKS

• Arkansas leads SFA in the series, 8-3, as Monday marks the teams’ 12th meeting all-time
• The Razorbacks last faced the Ladyjacks in 2011, which resulted in a 61-46 win for Arkansas
• This series’ first game took place in 1987, resulting in a 93-59 loss for Arkansas at home
• Arkansas has won the last six games of the series

 LAST TIME OUT

• The Razorbacks defeated Louisiana Tech, 69-47, in a game where the Razorbacks led wire-to-wire to improve to a perfect 7-0 in WNIT opening round games
• Arkansas’ 47 points allowed on defense is the least amount the Razorbacks have given up in a WNIT game
• Carr led the game with 17 points with four 3-pointers and five rebounds
• Tying an Arkansas WNIT record, Spencer dished a career-high 11 assists, while putting up 14 points for her second career double-double. She also added six rebounds to finish shy of a triple-double
• Barnum went to town down low in the second half, scoring 10 of her 14 points in the second half. She also added six rebounds and three assists
• The bench was productive with 16 points, as Maryam Dauda logged eight points and Jersey Wolfenbarger added six with two blocks
• In the first half, Arkansas had 12 assists on each of their 12 baskets. The team finished with 20 assists

WNIT HISTORY

• Arkansas has played in the WNIT /NWIT/AIAW 12 times, with this year marking the program’s 13th appearance
• The Razorbacks are now 17-6 in the WNIT with seven appearances, 4-2 in the NWIT with two appearances and 3-3 in the AIAW Tournament with three appearances
• In second round games played in the WNIT, Arkansas is 5-2
• Arkansas is a perfect 7-0 in the first round of the WNIT after its win over LA Tech in the first round of the 2023 Postseason WNIT
• The team’s last appearance in the WNIT came in 2019, where Arkansas made it to the third round. Arkansas defeated Houston (88-80 in OT) and UAB (100-52 before losing to TCU (82-78) in all games played in Fayetteville. The program used the WNIT as a jump starter in which the team went on to qualify for three straight NCAA Tournaments
• Arkansas won the WNIT in 1999 with its 67-64 win over Wisconsin in the championship game breaking a Bud Walton Arena attendance record at 14, 163, which is the fifth best attendance in WNIT history
• Past WNIT champions are programs that have fared well in the previous years. South Dakota State (2022) is now an NCAA Tournament team along with Arizona (2019), 2023 No. 1 seed Indiana (2018), Michigan (2017) and UCLA (2015)

UPCOMING

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