Horston leads Tennessee’s overtime win over Arkansas
Jan 31, 2022, 4:26 AM | Updated: 7:24 pm
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Just because her shot at the end of regulation hit the back of the rim, Jordan Horston wasn’t deterred.
The Tennessee guard scored a basket and a free throw in the final seconds of overtime as the No. 7 Lady Volunteers (19-2, 8-1 Southeastern Conference) rallied to beat Arkansas Monday night, 86-83.
“Short memory,” Horston said of how she handled the situation. “Shooter’s gonna shoot. LeBron misses shots, and he’s the (Greatest Of All Time). I just kept working. One of them will fall.”
Horston had several fall. She scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Rae Burrell scored 21 points, 17 of which came after the Razorbacks (14-7, 4-4) led by 13 with 7:44 to play in the third quarter. Tamari Key scored 14, but only had 3 heading into the fourth quarter. Sara Puckett added 10 points and 10 boards.
“This was a big win for a lot of reasons,” said Tennessee coach Kellie Harper, whose team was upended by Auburn last week. “Arkansas is playing some terrific basketball right now. Some of their players are hard to guard.”
Amber Ramirez falls under that category. She hit 5 of 9 3-pointers and led Arkansas with 29 points. She had a 3-point try at the buzzer in regulation that was quite long.
“We had a set play we had been working on all year,” said Razorbacks coach Mike Neighbors. “She had a solid look. She gets the best defender of whoever we play. She puts up those numbers against their lockdown.”
“Ramirez is someone you can’t shut down,” said Harper. “You can only make it as difficult as possible on her and maybe she’ll miss one.”
Samara Spencer scored 17 points, but missed two critical free throws in the last 11 seconds of overtime. Jersey Wolfenbarger scored 13 and Sasha Goforth added 10.
Even though Tennessee lost Keyen Green, an inside presence off the bench, with an ACL injury last week, it still managed to command a 60-40 rebounding advantage. The Lady Vols had 21 offensive boards and 27 second-chance points.
“It could have been 40 (offensive rebounds) if we didn’t work so hard,” Neighbors said. “We were spent. Their style grinds on you.”
“We wear people down,” said Harper. “Our guards stepped up and were active on the boards (accounting for 23 of the rebounds).”
BIG PICTURE
Arkansas: The Razorbacks came into Knoxville with a three-game winning streak, riding the high of an upset of No. 12 LSU last Thursday…Tennessee was challenged with an encore after having won at Arkansas, 70-63, Jan. 2…While hitting 34% of their 3-point shots, the Razorbacks have four players scoring in double figures, led by Makayla Daniels (15.0 ppg). Daniels sustained a knee injury in the second quarter.
Tennessee: It’s been a tumultuous couple of weeks around the Tennessee program. First, Tamari Key with an ankle injury against Kentucky. Her replacement was Keyen Green. Then, Green was lost for the year with a torn ACL. That news was followed by a stunning loss to Auburn, which hadn’t won an SEC game before that…Last week, coach Kellie Harper gave symbolic green keys to her team after Keyen Green shared that she had suffered a torn ACL, urging the Lady Vols to honor Green and fill her role by everyone committing “to bring just a little bit more.”
UP NEXT
Arkansas: After a trip to Texas A&M Thursday, the Razorbacks have a week off to catch their breath. The Aggies are struggling near the bottom of the SEC standings.
Tennessee: It won’t be an easy week for the Lady Vols. They travel to Florida for a Thursday game, then venture to Connecticut Sunday for a non-conference battle with the powerful Huskies.
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