COLUMBIA, Mo. – Despite a 22-point effort from sophomore guard Ashton Judd, University of Missouri Women’s Basketball fell, 67-58, to Arkansas on Sunday afternoon at Mizzou Arena.
Judd was an efficient 8-of-12 (66.7%) from the floor and added six rebounds to round out her stat line. The West Plains, Missouri native has scored 20+ points on five occasions in her career.
Senior forward Hayley Frank tallied 13 points and five rebounds. Frank now sits 58 points shy of becoming the fourth Tiger in program history to eclipse 2,000 career points.
Graduate forward Abby Feit added nine points and four rebounds while freshman guard Grace Slaughter chipped in nine points and three rebounds of her own.
It was a contested opening few minutes between as neither team found early separation, exchanging the lead four times throughout the first quarter. A 3-pointer from Slaughter with just over five minutes remaining shifted the momentum for Missouri (11-10, 2-6 SEC) as the Tigers outscored the Razorbacks (16-6, 4-3 SEC) 10-3 to end the frame.
The three-ball proved to be pivotal for Mizzou as the Tigers started the contest on a 4-of-7 clip from behind the arc, helping them take an 18-13 advantage entering the second.
The hot shooting streak continued into the second quarter as Judd and Feit each knocked down triples early in the frame. Mizzou entered the break on a 6-of-10 (60.0 percent) clip, the highest mark in the first half for the Tigers this season. Despite the performance, Arkansas held a 29-28 lead at the half. Judd highlighted the Tigers with 12 points on a 4-of-5 clip.
The Razorbacks built a six-point lead in the opening minutes of the third, but a 3-pointer from the right wing by Feit sparked a 10-4 Tigers charge that knotted the contest at 41-41. Judd converted a 3-point play in the final minute, but a triple in the final seconds gave Arkansas a one-point lead at the conclusion. Judd tallied seven points in the frame while Slaughter totaled six.
Arkansas steadily increased its lead throughout the fourth. Frank kept the Tigers close with eight points in the quarter, but the Razorbacks converted their attempts at the free throw line to secure the victory.
UP NEXT
The Tigers will have a bye on Thursday before hitting the road to take on Tennessee on Sunday. Tipoff is slated for 1 p.m. and will be available on SECN+.
