Razorbacks Women’s Basketball Team Travels to Face No. 13/12 Georgia

Courtesy University of Arkansas Athletics Department

FAYETTEVILLE – The University of Arkansas women’s basketball team travels to Athens, Ga. this week for a matchup with the No. 13/12 Georgia Bulldogs. Arkansas is looking to continue a two-game winning streak, coming off a 61-40 home win Sunday over Missouri.

Last time out, the Razorbacks held the Tigers to just 11 first half points en route to a 21 point victory, where Arkansas was led by freshman Dominique Wilson. The Powder Springs, Ga. native scored 18 points and became the first Razorback since 2006 to score 17 or more points in three consecutive games.

This will be the second straight matchup between the Razorbacks and Bulldogs. In the first contest at Bud Walton Arena on Jan. 17, Arkansas took an 11 point halftime lead, but struggled in the second half en route to a tough 57-53 loss.

“Based on the first Georgia game, we know we’re capable of beating them,” sophomore guard Calli Berna explained. “We’re very positive, and we know we need this win. We need to practice hard, and get better each day. They’re ranked high and we know we can get this win so we’re hungry to get it.”

Arkansas is led by Sarah Watkins (13.1 points per game) and Calli Berna (10.4 points per game). The team has developed a good balance, as eight different players have led the team in scoring in a game this season. Wilson has heated up of late, averaging 8.1 points per game in conference play and averaging 18 points per game in the last three.

“We have seven or eight players capable of scoring,” Arkansas head coach Tom Collen said. “Dominique Wilson three games in a row has scored in double figures and hit big shots. Somebody else is always there to step up, and I really like that about this team. We’ve got several people that can step up and get it done. To beat ranked teams, we need three or four of those players to step up in the same game in order to score enough points.”

Georgia enters at 21-4, 8-3 in the SEC, and have won five of their last six games. The Bulldogs are led by Jasmine Hassell, who leads the team with 12.2 points and 6.1 rebounds. Jasmine James averages 11.3 points and leads the team with 88 assists.

“Our team feels pretty good coming off the game against Missouri, especially because we played good defense,” Collen said. “We realize we need to finish strong, and we need to go out and beat a ranked team. We battled close with many ranked teams. We’re optimistic we can go out on the road and play well enough to win. They’re a very good team, but we’ve always played them close in good games. We know it’s a challenge on the road, but our kids seem to step up in those situations, so hopefully they’ll step up one more time.”

 

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