FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A steal and layup in the final seconds by senior forward Laniah Randle gave University of Missouri women’s basketball a thrilling 75-73 victory over Southeastern Conference rival Arkansas on Thursday night at Bud Walton Arena.
Randle totaled 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks to lead Missouri’s (14-16, 3-12 SEC) effort.
Junior guard Tilda Sjökvist contributed 13 points and a pair of boards.
Sophomore guard Grace Slaughter added 13 points and two rebounds.
Graduate guard De’Myla Brown rounded out the top Tigers with 10 points and two boards.
The two programs exchanged baskets following the opening tip, but 3-pointers by redshirt sophomore Averi Kroenke and Slaughter gave Missouri an early 11-6 lead after four minutes.
The Razorbacks separated by four in the back half of the frame before a layup in the closing seconds by sophomore forward Hannah Linthacum saw the Tigers trailing 21-20 after one.
Arkansas stretched the lead to eight points in the second quarter, but a triple by Judd ignited a 7-3 Mizzou run in the final three minutes before the break.
Sjökvist scored the Tigers’ final two buckets before the half including a floater to beat the buzzer. The late scoring run cut the Missouri deficit to just four coming out of the locker room.
Randle scored the opening two baskets of the third quarter to tie the contest at 35-35.
Minutes later, the Razorbacks regained a six-point lead, but a 3-point barrage by Sjökvist and Brown powered a 9-0 run by the Tigers and gave Missouri a three-point lead with just over two minutes remaining in the frame.
After a series of Arkansas baskets, Brown separated for a mid-range jumper to cut the Razorback advantage to 49-48 entering the fourth.
In a back-and-forth final quarter, Randle powered Missouri’s offense as the senior scored 13 of her total.
A 3-pointer from Sjokvist gave Missouri a two-point lead with just over three minutes on the clock and a conversion at the charity stripe by Judd tied the game with just seven seconds remaining setting up Randle’s game-winning play.
Missouri’s reserves outscored the Arkansas bench 31 to 27 on the night.
The win marked No. 250 for head coach Robin Pingeton at the helm of the Tigers.
UP NEXT
Missouri will return home to close out the 2024-25 regular season against Vanderbilt at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
