SEC WOMEN

Arkansas' women finish off Auburn

Jhasmin Bowen (center) of Arkansas makes a move in the post around Asia Robeson (35) of Auburn during the first half of play Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Jhasmin Bowen (center) of Arkansas makes a move in the post around Asia Robeson (35) of Auburn during the first half of play Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, in Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The last eight to 10 minutes of SEC games haven't been pretty for the Arkansas women's basketball team this year.

Coach Jimmy Dykes' Razorbacks turned that trend around Thursday night.

Arkansas watched a 31-15 halftime lead whittled down to two points with 7:02 to play, but the Razorbacks responded with enough plays down the stretch to pull out a 52-47 victory over Auburn at Walton Arena.

Dykes said he didn't discuss strategy at the timeout after Auburn had closed to within 41-39, but he issued an emotional challenge to his team.

"We didn't talk about plays or what we were doing to do the rest of the game," Dykes said. "I got after them pretty good and I said, 'Are you going to just let it get away again? Or are you going to come out and take control of this game? What's it going to be?'

"It could have gone either way, and I am really happy with the way they responded."

Coming out of the break, Melissa Wolff drove inside for a basket and then dished an assist to Jessica Jackson for a strong move inside as Arkansas opened the lead to six. Jackson then made a mid-range jumper to put Arkansas up 47-39 with 4:47 to play. That 6-0 run gave Arkansas the room to breathe down the stretch.

Sophomore Kelsey Brooks had 17 points and Wolff added 12 for Arkansas (12-8, 2-6). Tra'Cee Tanner led Auburn (9-12, 0-8) with 12 points.

Brooks continues to be a bright spot for the team as she sparked a strong start with 14 points in the first half as Arkansas built a 31-15 lead.

"We've had some problems about that eight-minute mark or so where we kind of let some games get away from us," Brooks said. "Coach told us be aggressive and keep fighting. It feels great to finish up a game and win one of these."

Jackson and Jhasmin Bowen had eight points each for Arkansas, and senior point guard Calli Berna played all 40 minutes and handed out six assists.

Arkansas came out strong in the opening minutes as Berna hit a three-pointer that gave Arkansas a 7-0 lead and forced Auburn's first timeout a little more than two minutes into the game.

After Auburn sliced the lead to 11-8, Arkansas pushed ahead again as Brooks heated up. Brooks' second three-pointer of the first half put Arkansas up 26-15, and her third three-pointer made it 31-15 with about a minute to play before the half.

Arkansas closed the first half with an 11-0 run, breaking open a game the Razorbacks had led 20-15 with 4:17 to play.

"We didn't play very well in the first half. We just couldn't score," Auburn Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "You aren't going to win many games when you score 15 points in a half."

Arkansas won despite making just 17 of 48 (35.4 percent) from the field for the game , including a dismal 5 of 23 (21.7 percent) in the second half. Arkansas also was outrebounded 33-28.

"We didn't play that well," Dykes said. "We certainly didn't shoot the ball very well, but we got a win in SEC play and that's what matters. This team has been through some tough losses, but they keep coming to practice with a good attitude and they are still battling."

Arkansas plays Sunday at Alabama and returns home Feb. 9 to host No. 20 Georgia.

Sports on 01/30/2015

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