FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas sent a message Thursday that its winning ways won’t stop this year with the onset of SEC play.
C’eira Ricketts and Lyndsay Harris scored a combined 37 points as Arkansas defeated Kentucky 78-67 before an announced crowd of 1,251 at Walton Arena. Ricketts finished with 19 points and Harris had 18for the Razorbacks (13-1, 1-1 SEC), who rebounded from a 64-53 loss to Florida last Sunday.
“We really just wanted to see what kind of team we were,” Harris said. “To have lost or played as bad as we did at Florida, I thought we came in really confident.”
It was the SEC home opener for No. 25 Arkansas, which started 0-5 in league play last season while finishing last in the conference. Arkansas Coach Tom Collen dismissed comparisons to last year after the Florida loss, and the Razorbacks delivered for at least one game with a comfortable victory over Kentucky.
“Before the game, the players were trying to convince me ‘Coach, we’ve got this. We’re ready for this,’ ” Collen said. “I wanted to believe them in the worst way. I guess I needed to see it.”
Sarah Watkins added 14 points and nine rebounds for Arkansas, which shot 50 percent for the game (29 of 57).
The 10th-ranked Wildcats (11-3, 0-1) were led by Victoria Dunlap, who finished with 26 points. The Wildcats shot poorly from the floor, making only 28 percent of their shots (19 of 67), including 4 of 15 from three-point range.
“It was a thorough beating by Arkansas,” Kentucky Coach Matthew Mitchell said. “It’s only one loss, but I was so disappointed in the way we played. Arkansas was the better team tonight.”
Kentucky got within 69-60 before Arkansas regained control with baskets from Yashira Delgado and Watkins, who made a 15-footer with 2:28 remaining.
“Sarah has been nothing but consistent, even against Florida when she scored six of our first nine points,” Collen said. “She’s a multitalented kid who can rebound and block shots. She gives us a presence inside that we haven’t had in a while, and she’s going to continue to get better.”
Arkansas led by as many as 10 points in the first half before settling for a 35-27 halftime lead. Kentucky used an 8-0 run to tie the game 19-19 before Arkansas pulled ahead again behind Ricketts, who had 10 points by halftime. Watkins contributed six points in the first half and led Arkansas’ defensive effort with five rebounds and four blocked shots.
Keyla Snowden opened the second half with five consecutive points for Kentucky before Watkins got the Razorbacks going again with a driving layup to the basket.
Watkins, Ricketts and Harris took turns making plays while Arkansas stretched its lead to 61-43 after a threepointer by Harris. Watkins added two free throws during the surge and passed to Harris for a driving layup to put Arkansas ahead 49-37.
Keira Peak added 10 points for Arkansas while A’dia Mathies had 13 for Kentucky.
NO. 5 TENNESSEE 110, ALABAMA 45
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Glory Johnson scored 19 points off the bench as No. 5 Tennessee cruised past Alabama.
The Lady Volunteers (14-2, 2-0 SEC) have won 37 consecutive games against the Crimson Tide, their second longest active streak against another team. Tennessee has beaten South Carolina 38 consecutive times.
Alabama (11-4, 0-2) hit only one of its first 13 shots and went scoreless for seven minutes early in the first half. That allowed Tennessee to take a 24-3 lead with 12:16 left in the first half on Taber Spani’s jumper.
The Lady Vols used 59.4 percent shooting in the first half to take a 59-22 lead at halftime. They extended their margin to 67 points in the second half before Alabama’s Jasmine Robinson hit a jumper to close the game.
Tierney Jenkins led the Tide with 11 points.
Sports, Pages 19 on 01/07/2011