FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas women's basketball team made sure Coach Mike Neighbors has more push-ups in his future.
The Razorbacks hit 13-of-25 three-pointers to take down No. 12 LSU 90-76 in front of a vocal crowd of 3,574 on Thursday evening in Walton Arena.
Arkansas (14-6, 4-3 SEC) shot a blistering 62% (16 of 26) from the floor in the second half and led 65-45 after three quarters to make LSU's 31-fourth-quarter points inconsequential and keep legendary Coach Kim Mulkey sitting on 649 career victories.
Neighbors started something he called "push-up" stats this week where if the team meets certain goals, he and the staff are forced to do push-ups. He did 50 during practice earlier this week.
Neighbors admitted to negotiating the number down already after the victory.
"I just negotiated it down to 100," Neighbors said. "And I negotiated into two days of 50 ... and I'll be honest with you, I think 100 is letting me off easy because they did an unbelievable job on the stats that we call our push-up stats. We gotta keep getting that right because whatever we say that is, they really lock into it."
The trio of Amber Ramirez, Samara Spencer and Makayla Daniels combined for 65 points. Ramirez led the way with 25, including 5-of-8 three-pointers. Spencer and Daniels added 20 each. That's also the third consecutive game Spencer, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week, has upped her season-high.
Mulkey said she knew it would be a struggle to try to slow the Razorbacks offense. But her Tigers also missed open shots on their end, she said.
"It was one of those games where you knew on the defensive end, we were gonna struggle," Mulkey said. "You've heard me say it many times, I don't have the personnel to guard that style of offense yet. But you gotta hit shots on the road early.
"They were sagging in the paint, it wasn't like Florida where they were up in us and guarding us hard. We had some really easy, good look that we normally make and we just didn't make'em.
Ramirez said the surge in confidence is contagious during this current three-game winning streak.
"I think it all stems from each other," Ramirez said. "Once somebody hits, we're all excited for each other. Playing as one, playing together as much as possible helps us out a lot. We have a lot of confidence in each other.
"I think our coaches always say we have more confidence in our teammates than we do ourselves and I think that's a true statement. I just believe in my teammates. I believe every shot that goes up, it's going in."
That was pretty much for the case for the Razorbacks over the last three quarters. They combined to shoot 25 0f 44 from the floor (57%) and 10 of 17 from three-point range after the first quarter. On the other side, LSU shot 45% for the game, but that was inflated by 12 of 20 (60%) in the fourth quarter. The Tigers were 18 of 47 (38%) through the first three quarters.
Neighbors said his team, which has just one senior, is learning on the fly. But they have taking some lessons from losses to Tennessee and South Carolina to heart.
"When it gets going, it goes up another level," Neighbors said. "Defense is better. Their talk is better. Just everything is better. We've got a lot of confidence in them as a staff. We hope they continue to have confidence in each other."
Arkansas was in control over the middle two quarters, after leading just 16-15 after the first. The Razorbacks extended the lead to 39-28 at halftime and increasing the advantage to 20 points after three quarters. They did it against an LSU team that was announced as a No. 3 seed by the NCAA women's selection committee prior to the game in the first of three pre-tournament reveals of the top 16 seeds.
LSU (17-4, 5-3) crept within eight midway through the third quarter, but the Razorbacks delivered what proved to the knockout punch in the form of a 17-5 run. Ramirez had eight in the scoring spree, including a pair of three-pointers.
Alexis Morris led the Tigers with 22, while Autumn Newby added 15 and guard Khayla Pointer added 13.
Arkansas used a big 15-2 second-quarter run to grab a 31-19 advantage. The Razorbacks hit four three-pointers in the surge including three in a row. Spencer went back-to-back.
Sasha Goforth capped the run with a fast-break layup off an LSU turnover. Faustine Aifuwa scored inside and Pointer hit two free throws to get LSU to within eight with 3:50 left in the first half. But Arkansas responded with five in a row, including a three-point play by Erynn Barnum to push the lead back to 36-23.
Arkansas will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to take on the No. 4 Lady Vols on Monday. Tennessee was upset by Auburn 71-61 on Thursday.
Arkansas junior Makayla Daniels (left) drives toward the basket against LSU’s Jailin Cherry during Thursday night’s game at Walton Arena in Fayetteville. Daniels scored 20 points during the Razorbacks’ victory over the No. 12 Tigers. More photos available at arkansasonline.com/128lsuua. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Beach)Gallery: Arkansas defeats LSU 90-76
