The 11-9 Missouri women’s basketball hosted their border rival, the 15-6 Arkansas Razorbacks. It was a back and forth battle as the Tigers ultimately suffered their third straight loss. 

The Jan. 28 matchup opened with a barrage of 3-point attempts from both sides. The Tigers sank four threes out of seven attempts during the first quarter. The Razorbacks hit three of their first seven 3-point attempts. Missouri’s long range advantage paid dividends on the scoreboard as the Tigers led 18-13 by the end of the first quarter. 

Missouri struggled to find the bottom of the net in the second period. Sophomore guard Ashton Judd and graduate forward Abby Feit scored all 10 of the Tigers’ points with 7 and 3, respectively. Arkansas took advantage of the Tigers’ shooting struggles, retaining the hot hand from behind the arc with a 4-8 3-point shooting clip.

Arkansas guard Saylor Poffenbarger and Judd led their respective teams in scoring during the first half with 12 points each. The Razorbacks took the lead in the second quarter, closing the half with a score of 29-28.

The third quarter saw both teams trade the lead. The Tigers put up a strong effort in limiting Arkansas’ shot attempts, allowing just 10 shots from the field for the quarter. Missouri looked to carry the lead into the final period until Arkansas hit a 3-pointer in the last few seconds of the quarter to go up 49-48.

Poffenbarger, whose mother Amy started for Missouri from 1990 to 1994, led the charge for Arkansas with another 9 points in the fourth quarter. Physical defense forced the Tigers to shoot 26.7% from the field, slamming the door on the Tigers’ hope of winning. The Razorbacks pulled away with the 67-58 win.

Judd led the Tigers in scoring and rebounding with 22 points and six rebounds, while Poffenbarger had a game high of 24 points on 8-11 3-point shooting. Senior Mama Dmebele and graduate Hayley Frank each notched four assists, with Frank also adding 13 points.

Coach Robin Pingeton praised Judd’s ability to break out from her recent shooting slump.

“I would credit her on mentally staying the course and continuing to fight and battle through a stretch where she wasn’t shooting the ball particularly well,” Pingeton said. “She played with physicality and confidence and I thought she was really aggressive offensively.”

Sunday’s loss marks the Tigers’ second three-game losing skid of conference play. With the season nearing its conclusion, Pingeton’s crew will need to turn things around soon. They have a week until their next matchup, giving the Tigers some time to reassess.

“This week will be a good week for our players to rest and recover, mentally and physically,” Pingeton said. “Then we gotta roll up our sleeves and go back to work next week.”

Edited by Michael Stamps 

Copy Edited by Briana Iordan | biordan@themaneater.com

Genevieve Smith | gsmith@themaneater.com