SEC WOMEN

Arkansas no match for power

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Arkansas star freshman Jessica Jackson endured a humbling lesson about basketball life on the road in the Southeastern Conference.

Jackson, the SEC’s fourth-leading scorer, was held to eight points, less than half her season average of 16.6 points, on 1 of 12 shooting from the field in Arkansas’ 67-49 loss to the sixth-ranked Gamecocks.

“She didn’t finish anything from 5 feet today and that was tough on her,” Collen said of Jackson, who scored six of her points on foul shots.

It was the third time in 24 games Jackson has been held to fewer than 10 points for the Razorbacks (16-8, 3-8), who have been on a downward spiral since starting SEC play.

South Carolina started Arkansas’ slide, spoiling the Razorbacks’ 13-0 start with a 55-51 victory on Jan. 2. Arkansas has won 3 of 10 games since, a stretch that has included road losses to No. 15 Kentucky and No. 8 Tennessee, along with a second defeat to the Gamecocks.

Collen said he and his players haven’t given up hope of making postseason play.

“We feel like we’ve got a chance,” he said. “We honestly feel like if we get to 7-9, our RPI will rise and we’ve got a legitimate shot at the NCAA tournament. I know we don’t look like that right now to people outside the SEC.”

The Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) is a scale used by the NCAA Selection Committee to rank Division I basketball teams by their performance in light of strength of schedule. Low RPI ranking numbers denote strong teams; and high numbers, weaker ones.

The Gamecocks (22-2, 10-1) lead the SEC standings by 11/2 games over Texas A&M and LSU, but South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley said she won’t allow her players to get ahead of themselves.

“The way you look at is if we continue to do what we’ve done all season long, that stuff will take care of itself,” Staley said. “We’re going to concentrate on getting another win on the road at LSU. Whatever’s after that is after that.”

South Carolina next game is at No. 16 LSU next Sunday.

Aleighsa Welch, a 6-0 forward, had 16 points and a career-high five blocks to lead the Gamecocks.

Arkansas packed the middle in an attempt to disrupt South Carolina’s game plan of feeding Welch and 6-4 forwards Elem Ibiam and Alaina Coates underneath. But Ibiam and Coates added 10 points each, and, along with Welch, accounted for 21 of South Carolina’s 42 points.

Tiffany Mitchell, who had 15 points for South Carolina, said the team looks first to the post before taking outside shots.

“That’s where we go. That’s our bread and butter right now,” she said.

South Carolina held Arkansas to under 30 percent shooting for a second time this season.

Calli Berna and Keira Peak led the Razorbacks with nine points each.

The Gamecocks led 33-18 at the half, but Arkansas made it 37-27 on Berna’s three-pointer with 15:26 left.

South Carolina steadily built that lead back to 53-34 on Coates’ three-point play with 8:48 remaining.

South Carolina has steadily risen in the SEC this season because of its inside power. Ibiam leads the conference in blocks - she set the school’s single-season mark in last Thursday night’s victory at Mississippi State - while Coates is third in league blocks.

FLORIDA 86, NO. 15 KENTUCKY 80

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - January Miller scored 20 points, including 3 of 4 late free throws, to lead Florida in an 86-80 upset of No. 15 Kentucky.

Florida (17-7, 7-4 SEC) led by as much as 10 in the first half, but Kentucky (17-6, 5-5) scored the last six before intermission and trailed 40-36 at halftime.

The Wildcats tied it at 40-40 just 1:30 into the second, but the Gators ran off 14 consecutive points before Kentucky Coach Matthew Mitchell called timeout. His club started to chip away, cutting the deficit to one on Azia Bishop’s layup at 73-72 with 3:57 left.

But Florida countered with a Lily Svete three-pointer and made four of six free throws down the stretch.

Kayla Lewis added 18 points and 17 rebounds for the Gators, while Svete finished with 17.

Jennifer O’Neill led Kentucky with 20 points. DeNesha Stallworth had 14 points and 13 rebounds.

NO. 19 TEXAS A&M 72, NO. 16 LSU 67

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Courtney Walker scored 22 points, going 10 of 20 from the field and making a critical layup in the game’s final minute as No. 19 Texas A&M edged No. 16 LSU 72-67.

With Texas A&M (18-6, 8-2 SEC) leading by a point, Walker made a layup with 54 seconds left to extend the Aggies’ lead to 70-67. Jeanne Kenney then missed a jumper for LSU (18-6, 7-4) and Texas A&M made two free throws down the stretch to help seal the win.

Texas A&M held the Lady Tigers scoreless for the final 5 1/2 minutes of the first half, using its defense to go on a 12-0 run that spanned into the beginning of the second and take a 29-24 lead. LSU remained close throughout but never regained the lead.

Courtney Williams added 16 points for the Aggies while Danielle Ballard led LSU with 22.

SUNDAY’S GAMES South Carolina 67, Arkansas 49 Florida 86, Kentucky 80 Georgia 84, Mississippi 63 Texas A&M 72, LSU 67 Alabama 59, Missouri 56 Auburn 51, Mississippi State 43 TODAY’S GAME All times Central Vanderbilt at Tennessee, 8 p.m.

Sports, Pages 13 on 02/10/2014

Upcoming Events