FAYETTEVILLE -- Caliya Robinson scored a game-high 20 points and added nine rebounds and seven blocks to lead Georgia past Arkansas, 69-66, in Southeastern Conference women's basketball at Bud Walton Arena on Thursday.
Arkansas trailed by as many as 13 points, 63-50, with 5 minutes, 12 seconds left, before a furious rally in the closing minutes. With Georgia giving them a chance with missed free throws down the stretch, the Razorbacks pulled within two points in the final minute before a Jessica Jackson just missed a 3-point attempt for a potential tie mere seconds before the final buzzer.
Women’s College Basketball
Georgia 69, Arkansas 66
Georgia^18^16^21^14^—^69
Arkansas^16^16^10^24^—^66
Georgia (11-11, 3-6): Robinson 20, Armbrister 14, Roberts 13, Engram 7, Clark 6, Washington 5, Costa 4.
Arkansas (13-9, 2-7): Jackson 26, Cosper 9, Mason 8, Monk 7, Williams 6, Zimmerman 5, Swenson 3, Wilson 2.
3-point FG — Georgia 4-14 (Armbrister, Roberts 2), Arkansas 10-31 (Cosper, Jackson 3). Assists — Georgia 20 (Clark 9), Arkansas 12 (Monk 4). Steals — Georgia 3 (Armbrister, Roberts, Washington), Arkansas 9 (Monk, Mason 3). Blocked shots — Georgia 9 (Robinson 7), Arkansas 4 (Jackson 2). Turnovers — Georgia 14 (Clark 6), Arkansas 9 (Monk, Mason 3).
Technical Fouls: None. Fouled out: Georgia, Washington; Arkansas, Cosper. Officials: Beverly Roberts, Felicia Grinter, Bruce Morris. Attendance: 589.
"We literally outplayed them in every area, I think, other than we just couldn't shoot the ball," Arkansas coach Jimmy Dykes said. "You look at the stat sheet, we got 22 more shots than Georgia. And we're 12 of 23 from the free throw line, and we got 24 offensive rebounds and only turned it over nine times.
"So I was proud of how we fought. I wished we would have pressured them more and when we went to that zone that went inside and just took it to us. But at the end of the day you shoot 27 percent, I don't know who you're going to beat."
The Razorbacks (13-9, 2-7 SEC) used three 3-pointers early in the second quarter to race out to a 27-19 lead. From there on, the Bulldogs turned the tables with an offensive emphasis in the post, as Robinson -- a 6-foot-3 sophomore -- and Shanea Armbrister, a 6-2 junior, combined for 34 points and 17 rebounds.
"We thought we could take advantage of our size," Georgia coach Joni Taylor said. "That's what we were able to do, get it inside to Caliya and to (Halle) Washington and our other bigs and they hit some shots and they also kicked it back out for some open looks."
Georgia (11-11, 3-6) would finish the second quarter on 15-5 run for a 34-32 lead at intermission, then took control early in the third quarter.
Arkansas struggled to score from everywhere on the court after the early scoring spree, shooting just 30 percent from the floor in the half and 28 percent for the game.
"We just couldn't get anyone going on offense," Dykes said. "You look at the shots we took. We took 79 shots and maybe five or six were shots not wanted. But we missed transition layups, and so many missed shots like that and you look back in a close game like this and they're heartbreaking for our team right now."
The Bulldogs took advantage of Arkansas' cold spell and got a balanced attack well beyond Robinson and Armbrister. Guard Pachis Roberts added 13 points and 11 rebounds and MacKenzie Engram contributed seven points and six boards.
"We knew was not going to quit and I wasn't surprised when they made a run." Taylor said. "I was disappointed we had so many turnovers and gave up so many offensive rebounds. But we've been in a lot of close games and it hasn't always gone our way, so I'm proud of our girls for staying the course and staying together and making the plays down the stretch."
Jackson led Arkansas with 26 points, hitting 11 of 16 free throws while only connecting on 6 of 23 from the field.
Arkansas returns home to host South Carolina on Sunday and Georgia is back home against Tennessee on Sunday.
Sports on 02/03/2017