Sophomore Maryam Dauda poured in a career-high 18 points, including 13 in the pivotal third quarter, as the Arkansas women’s basketball team toppled border-rival Missouri, 75-68, for their 12th straight win over the Lady Tigers.
The Bentonville product led five Razorbacks in double-digit scoring, as she knocked down 8 of 12 shots from the field, while adding five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal.
Arkansas (18-9, 6-6 SEC) went into the fourth quarter up by 20, but allowed Missouri to cut the lead to five with 24 seconds left in the game. Junior Samara Spencer and senior Makayla Daniels combined to hit 5-for-6 free throws in the final moments to preserve the victory.
The Tigers opened the game hot from the three-point line, sinking three of their first four from beyond the arc, and led 15-6 midway through the first period.
Sophomore Saylor Poffenbarger‘s layup sparked a 7-0 run for the Razorbacks, highlighted by a Dauda’s conventional three-point play, to cut the lead to two.
Sophomore Carly Keats opened the second quarter with a triple to give Arkansas its first lead of the game, and send the Hogs on a 13-0 run. Another Keats three put the Razorbacks in front 32-25 with just under seven minutes left in the first half.
Poffenbarger drained another three-pointer to spur a 6-0 run late in the half, as Arkansas outscored Missouri 25-11 in the quarter, and led 48-36 at the intermission. The 6-foot-2 Poffenbarger finished with her ninth double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.
The Razorbacks extended the margin to 64-44 heading into the final frame. But the Lady Tigers began to turn the tide, opening with a three, while Arkansas went cold on it’s first four possession of the period. Missouri (11-14, 2-10 SEC) outscored the Hogs 24-11 in the final 10 minutes, but Daniels scored five of her 14 points down the stretch to help preserve the win.
Daniels was 4 of 5 from the field and is now fifth in career points at Arkansas with 1,791, She also added six rebounds, two assists and one steal, tying her for third in career steals with 239.
Spencer also tallied 14 points, with six assists, while Keats finished with 11 points, in her first game back from a broken nose.
Arkansas was without the SEC’s leading scorer, freshman Taliah Scott, who had to return home to Florida, due to a “serious family emergency,” according to the Razorback Sports Network.
Arkansas will hit the road to face Texas A&M on Thursday at 7 p.m. The game will be aired on SECN+.