Four days after a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff women’s basketball team will face its next challenge in Fayetteville.
UAPB will play Arkansas at Bud Walton Arena at 10:30 a.m. Friday for the Razorbacks’ Elementary Day game.
UAPB Coach Erica Leak said the four Arkansas natives on her roster are excited for this game.
“It doesn’t really get a whole lot better than the SEC, and so, to have an opportunity to be in that environment and play the Hogs is very exciting,” Leak said. “It’s also exciting to play another school in the U of A System. We’re a part of each other, so it’s a great in-state rivalry game that we’re all up for.”
UAPB (1-0) is coming off a 69-64 win at Memphis on Monday, which was the Lady Lions’ first win in a season opener in five years. It was also UAPB’s first road win under Leak after going 0-16 away from Pine Bluff in her inaugural season last year.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Last year’s team started 0-3 and won just one game against a Division I opponent, which came at home on Feb. 1 against Mississippi Valley State.
Leak said last year’s 3-25 season made UAPB appreciate this 1-0 start that much more.
“The thing about failure, thinking about last year, is that it’s the condiment that gives success its flavor,” Leak said. “We wouldn’t know how sweet it is if we didn’t go through the fire last year.”
UAPB ended the third quarter on Monday trailing 54-44 but outscored the Tigers 25-10 in the fourth. Junior guard Indiya Bowen scored 18 of her 29 points in that quarter to lead the comeback.
Bowen, one of five Lady Lions from the greater Memphis area, said the rest of the team pushed her to step up in the fourth.
“Coach Leak said a couple words to me, teammates had told me, ‘Hey, you need to get going,’ I guess,” Bowen said. “The trash talkers was on the court. I was like, shoot, let me wake up, then.”
The game was Bowen’s first with the Lady Lions after transferring from Southeast Missouri State. Per UAPB, her 29 points set a school record for a debut.
UAPB won despite being shorthanded to open the season. Senior guard Kristyna Boyd, senior forward Briah Hampton, sophomore forward Zoey Davis, and freshman guards Jakyra Jackson and Alaviah Price are all out with various injuries.
For most of them, Leak said she is trying to ease them back in but hopes to have more players available for the home opener on Nov. 12 against Sam Houston State. Boyd, Leak said, is out 4-6 weeks with a torn meniscus.
Arkansas (1-0) also had to come from behind to win its season opener, though the Razorbacks didn’t wait until the fourth quarter to rally in their 93-81 win over Louisiana Tech on Tuesday.
The Hogs trailed Louisiana Tech 17-2 with 4:46 remaining in the first quarter but went on to outscore the Lady Techsters 31-18 in the second half to take a 41-40 lead into halftime.
Arkansas shot 44.6% from the field and made nine 3-pointers. The Razorbacks’ 93 points came after they scored 100 in an exhibition game against Division II Arkansas-Fort Smith.
UAPB’s exhibition game and regular season opener were both lower-scoring games, so Leak said the Lady Lions need to slow the game down and disrupt the Razorbacks’ rhythm.
“I think when they’re in rhythm, they’re capable of putting 100 points on the board,” Leak said. “We’re going to play fast in spurts, if that makes sense, and walk it up when we can and just kind of slow them down.”
Freshman guard Bonnie Deas led Arkansas with 25 points against La Tech. Senior guard Taleyah Jones, an Oral Roberts transfer, added 20 points and 12 rebounds.
This will be the first meeting between UAPB and Arkansas since the Lady Lions upset the Razorbacks 74-70 on Dec. 10, 2023, in Fayetteville.
Both teams have hired new coaches since then. UAPB hired Leak ahead of last season, while new Arkansas coach Kelsi Musick debuted Tuesday. The only player from that game still on either team’s roster is Arkansas junior forward Cristina Sanchez Cerqueira, who played seven minutes and did not attempt a shot in the 2023 game.