Top-25 Razorback Women Win 9th Straight
By: Aaron Peters
Updated: December 28, 2012
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Senior Sarah Watkins paced the No. 25 University of Arkansas women's basketball team to a 71-57 win over Coppin State in Bud Walton Arena Friday.
Arkansas moves to 12-1 on the year and
begins Southeastern Conference play Jan. 3, at
Auburn.
Watkins, who scored just four points in the
first half, finished with a game-high 22, scoring double figures for the
10th time this
season and for the ninth consecutive game. Watkins pulled down a season-best 10
rebounds as well for her first double-double of the season and the seventh of
her career.
Junior Dominique Robinson added 11 points
and senior Quistelle Williams recorded her third career double-double with 10
points and 11 rebounds.
"It was hard work out there," Arkansas head
coach Tom Collen said. "We knew it would be. They (CSU) really pushed us. We
were pushed to the end and that's probably good going into SEC play. We want to
take this as a lesson but put it behind us. We move on now and can learn from
this. Coppin State is a lot like Auburn in that they pressed us and played zone
against us so this was a good test."
Arkansas got out to a flat start and Coppin
State took advantage of it hitting the boards hard and taking an early lead.
The Razorbacks found a spark after the second timeout of the half and stepped up
the defensive pressure which led to some scoring
opportunities.
The Razorbacks tried to take advantage of
some open three-point looks but Arkansas was cold from distance going 1-for-13
in the first 20 minutes. The Razorbacks were 2-for-16 for the
game
Arkansas had to look for its points inside
and found them in the form of 18 in the paint and 13 from the bench
players.
After trailing much of the first half, the
Razorbacks tied then took the lead at the 4:31 mark when Calli Berna hit a pair
of free throws. Tough defense then forced a turnover on the CSU end of the
floor and Arkansas took advantage of a fast break as Keira Peak laid it in for
two and a three-point lead.
Arkansas put together a 16-0 run while
Coppin State got rattled and went 0-for-14 during the run stretching the
Razorback lead to nine at the break, 32-23.
Coppin State came out much more physical in
the second half and caught Arkansas off-guard to start the period. Arkansas
battled five quick second-half turnovers while CSU let the aggressive defense
turn into fouls as two starters had three fouls at the 15:53 media
timeout.
CSU was over the limit in fouls with just
under eight minutes to play in regulation and Arkansas had been solid for much
of the game from the line. That trend stalled a bit early in the second half as
the Razorbacks went 2-for-5 in the first 10 minutes but Arkansas finished
hitting 10-for-10 from the line. They were 23-for-28 for the
game.
A late 8-0 run by Arkansas was fueled by the
CSU foul trouble and the Razorbacks pulled away late in the contest. The
Razorbacks shot just 39.7 percent from the game on 23-for-58 shooting. Arkansas
los the rebounding battle, 44-46, and Arkansas finished with16 assists,
including a career-best 12 from Berna in the
win.
The Razorbacks begin Southeastern Conference
play next week traveling to Auburn, Jan. 3. Arkansas hosts No. 24 Texas A&M
in the SEC home opener Jan. 6.
For more information regarding Razorback
women's basketball or University of Arkansas athletics, please visit
ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
NOTES
Arkansas' 12 wins is the
third consecutive season the Razorbacks have reached double digits before
January and the fifth time in six seasons un
