FAYETTEVILLE — If Arkansas felt pressure, it didn’t show against Sam Houston State.
The Razorbacks, playing their last game before SEC play, rolled over the Bearkats for a 106-78 victory Tuesday at Walton Arena. The point total was a season high for Arkansas (8-5), which had six players score 10 or more points.
Sophomore forward Ashley Daniels had 16 points and 17 rebounds, and sophomore Lyndsay Harris had 21 points and eight assists for the Razorbacks.
“In practice Coach made a comment, he said I better have a good game,” Daniels said. “I know I had to come out and play good.”
The Razorbacks entered the game coming off a 1-3 road trip with the SEC opener against Florida on Sunday. Arkansas’ offense had struggled in the road trip, something Coach Tom Collen partially attributed to playing teams with good defenses.
“There has been a lot said about our lack of offense,” Collen said. “I don’t think there was any question we needed to get back on track offensively. We needed to relax and get back on track.”
The relaxation came early for the Razorbacks, thanks in part to Harris’ accurate outside shooting. Harris made 5 of 9 three-point attempts in the game.
Arkansas seized control of the game early in the first half, shortly after Sam Houston State’s Chanice Smith hit a three-pointer to give the Bearkats (3-7) a 7-6 lead. The Razorbacks scored five consecutive points to take a 12-7 lead, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the game.
Harris made a three-pointer to give Arkansas a 15-9 lead and, after the Bearkats pulled within 19-14, Questille Williams made a three-pointer and C’eira Ricketts hit a jumper to give Arkansas its first 10-point lead of the game at 24-14.
“We knew it was important to get a win and jump-start our latter half of our season,” Harris said.
The Razorbacks would lead by as many as 16 points in the half and took a 50-34 lead into the break. Harris, who made 3 three-pointers,led Arkansas with 13 points, and Williams, a freshman reserve forward, had 11.
The Razorbacks went on cruise control in the second half, building a 30-point lead on Harris’ three-pointer with 5:06 left in the game. After taking a 24-point lead early in the half, the Razorbacks got sloppy, committing six turnovers on their next eight possessions.
“That’s what happens,” Collen said. “Our team thinks, ‘Hey, we’re going to score.’ They start throwing crazy passes.”
The Bearkats cut the lead to 16 points but could get no closer as Arkansas settled down. Arkansas committedjust four turnovers in the first half but finished with 19, giving Bearkats Coach Brenda Welch-Nichols something positive to focus on.
“We made them commit 19 turnovers,” Welch-Nichols said. “That’s exciting for us.”
Sam Houston State came into the game being outrebounded an average of nine rebounds a game and that form held true. Arkansas finished the game with a 59-39 rebounding advantage and scored 42 points in the paint.
“The biggest difference is David and Goliath,” Welch-Nichols said. “That was the difference in the ballgame.”
Daniels, 6-2, came in averaging 6.8 points and 6.5 points and dominated the shorter Bearkats, who started one player 6-0.
“Our plan was to go inside,” Daniels said. “With that, I knew I had to be strong.”
Sports, Pages 20 on 12/30/2009