Changing of Guard: Youth, Veteran Leadership Carry Hogs to Win
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When graduate Makayla Daniels made her first start in a Razorback uniform, freshman Taliah Scott was in her first year in high school. Daniels made her 123rd start in a Hog uniform to kick off the 2023-24 campaign while Scott made her debut. The two leading scorers carried the team with a combined 46 points. It was only fitting with 16.6 seconds left that Scott drained two free-throws to ice an 81-76 win over Louisiana Monroe.
"Makayla's legacy here is already cemented," coach Mike Neighbors said. "I don't care what anybody says. She's won more games than anybody ... but part of her legacy is going to be turning this over to Taliah and Sam (Samara Spencer) next year. Her big legacy is going to be and showing Sam a few things and Taliah a bunch."
Perhaps the most harrowing moment was when Spencer, who had 16 points of her own, went down and spent a few minutes on the floor with 6:52 left in the fourth quarter but appeared to be fine and checked back in soon after.
The Razorbacks started well enough. Scott, an ESPN five-star recruit, instantly showed her potential to a small but boisterous crowd of 2,630 at Bud Walton Arena, gliding to the basket for a layup on the opening Hog possession of the night. She quickly followed with a three-pointer midway through the opening quarter as the Hogs jumped out to an early 9-5 lead.
"I was kind of nervous," Scott said. "Once the ball tipped off, I was locked in. I couldn't have done it without my teammates, my coaches that believed in me. (They) got me in the right spots, got me great opportunities."
Neighbors warned in his preseason media days last week that the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks would be no pushover. Both offenses went ice-cold right after the Scott triple, with the teams missing their next 23 shots from the field combined and crashing both teams' field goal percentages to the floor. The Hogs finished the half shooting 29 percent from the floor to go with 11 turnovers. The poor shooting streak mercifully ended with a ULM layup to cut the Hog lead to 19-17.
After Scott's quick start, which featured eight of her 10 first-half points in the first quarter, she handed off second-quarter scoring duties to Spencer, who also finished the half in double figures, as an evenly matched 20 minutes of basketball came to an end with the Hogs down a point.
The Hogs waited until the second half to show their class. Neighbors finally got to show the depth that he had been promising. Scott made two layups, including a three-point play as five different Razorbacks scored in the third quarter. Neighbors quickly found the right mix of newcomers and returners to stretch the lead to 49-39 midway through the third quarter. Graduate guard Makayla Daniels also got in on the action, making two layups and a triple.
Just as quickly as the Hogs built a double-digit lead it all but disappeared as the interior defense suddenly became porous. ULM made four layups in the final 2:38 of the period to once again cut the lead to 53-50 with 10 minutes to play.
The game finished just as it started, with Scott dominating and putting the future of the program in great hands. Scott scored 14 of her 29 points in the final stanza to ensure the victory. She maintained her composure in the clutch going 4-6 from the field and 5-7 from the stripe.
"It is way too early to start thinking about the SEC season," Neighbors said. "We've got too many quality opponents and big games, but every game we scheduled helped us get better for somebody in out league."
The Lady Hogs will continue their opening home stand 10:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 10 against Murray State on Elementary Day, where an expected 7,000 school children will be in attendance. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
HOGS FEED:
ARKANSAS SIGNS FORMER TOP 5 BASKETBALL RECRUIT
SEC IGNORING LONGSTANDING RIVALRY WITH TEXAS IN FUTURE BASEBALL PERMANENT OPPONENTS IN FAVOR OF MUCH LESSER FOE
AUBURN FOOTBALL MAY HAVE FALLEN INTO THIRD OF RELEVANT SPORTS DOWN ON THE PLAINS
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