Razorbacks lose Fort Myers Tip-Off finals to Marquette after beating Wisconsin

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Arkansas women’s basketball team dropped its first game of the season as Marquette defeated the Hogs 74-58 in wire-to-wire fashion in the Elevance Health Fort Myers Tip-off Shell Division Championship game on Saturday.

The Razorbacks (6-1) pulled out a gutsy win over Wisconsin in the semifinals as the Hogs won 65-62.

In the championship game, Arkansas got off to an incredibly slow start, shooting 1-of-13 to begin the game, while not being able to get into a rhythm offensively to match Marquette’s shooting greater than 50 percent from the field through the first half and outrebounded the Hogs 41-32 in the game. Taliah Scott led the Hogs with 21 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter. Makayla Daniels earned a spot on the Elevance Health Women’s Fort Myers Tip-off All-Tournament Team, while breaking the school record for career starts with her 129th nod on Saturday.

Marquette scored the first six points of the game off jumpers, while Arkansas started 0-for-3 from the field. Mike Neighbors called a timeout just 1:49 into the game to regroup, as the Hogs trailed 6-0 early. Arkansas continued to search for its first basket, but could not get one, as the Hogs would then trail 10-0.

Samara Spencer then hit a triple on the Hogs’ seventh shot attempt with 5:58 left in the first quarter. After that triple, the Hogs fell in another scoring drought, this time three minutes, which had Arkansas down 17-3. Carly Keats nailed a triple, but the Golden Eagles (6-0) answered with a jumper. Daniels knocked down a triple at the buzzer, behind 23-11 after a quarter.

Scott helped the Hogs make its third straight field goal to open the second quarter with a lay-up, but Marquette answered with a 6-0 run, as the Hogs were down by 16 with 7:17 left in the first half. Saylor Poffenbarger showed her offensive and defensive ability, coming up with a monster block, and then knocking down a 3-pointer, which was a part of a 5-0 run for the Hogs.

The Golden Eagles then had a 4-0 run of their own, but Poffenbarger responded with her second triple of the game. The Hogs trailed 33-21 with 4:25 left in the quarter.

Spencer had a tough take to the basket for lay-up, drawing the foul in the process. The Hogs cut the deficit to 11 once again with that and-1, but Marquette went on a 9-0 run, as Arkansas trailed by 44-24 with less than a minute in the half.

Keats drilled her second 3-pointer of the game, eighth for the Hogs. After a Marquette basket, the Hogs had a 19-point deficit at the half, behind 46-27 going into the locker room.

The Hogs could not stop Marquette from finding the basket, as the Golden Eagles made baskets on their first two possessions of the quarter. Poffenbarger nailed a triple and got a lay-up off a nice Daniels assist, and then after another Hog steal, Arkansas took advantage, as Scott knocked down a triple. Arkansas cut into the lead, as Marquette called a timeout with the Hogs behind 5035 with 6:38 left in the quarter.

Maquette would outscore Arkansas 13-2 in the next four minutes of the quarter, as the Hogs found itself in its biggest deficit, down by 26 with 1:38 left in the third. Keats drilled a 3-point basket to drag the Hogs out of a long drought. At the end of the third quarter, Marquette led 63-40.

Maquette opened the fourth quarter outscoring the Hogs 9-4 in the opening minutes. Cristina Sánchez Cerqueira earned her first career basket off a great pass by Daniels under the basket. The Hogs trailed 72-46 with 5:55 left in the game.

That basket by Sánchez Cerqueira started a 9-2 run, highlighted by a tough 3-pointer by Scott. The Hogs outscored Marquette 18-11 in the fourth, with Scott tallying 14 of those points. The Hogs, who pressed almost the full fourth quarter, held Marquette scoreless for the final 4:21 of the game.

In the win over Wisconsin, a 15-3 run by the Hogs in the beginning of the fourth quarter was the biggest difference, despite no field goals for Arkansas in the final 4:46 of the game. With 13 seconds left in the contest, Wisconsin had a chance to tie the game, but the Hogs were able to come up with big stops defensively to seal the victory. The trio of Arkansas guards led the way in the win, as Daniels had a near double-double of 22 points and eight rebounds, while tying the career starts record at Arkansas, earning her 128th starting nod on Friday.

The Hogs got off to a slow start, going 2-for-13 from the field to begin things. Wisconsin got on the scoreboard first with a banked 3-pointer, while Arkansas missed its first five shots.

Scott then got the Hogs on the board with a triple and Daniels got one of her own. At the media timeout taken at 4:58, the game was tied at 6-all. The Badgers started to catch fire from beyond the arc, making 5-of-7 of their shots from 3-point in the first quarter. The Hogs trailed 18-12 at the end of the first quarter.

Both sides found trouble firing up offensively in the first three minutes of the second quarter. Daniels then knocked down her second 3-pointer of the game to cut the deficit to 18-16 with six minutes left in the frame. The Hogs went on an 8-0 run and tied the game thanks to a Daniels’ driving lay-up and Scott followed with stepback jumper to give Arkansas its first lead of the game. At the media timeout, taken at 4:45, Arkansas led 20-18.

After the Hogs took a five-point lead off a Samara Spencer triple, Wisconsin responded with a 14-0 run. Poffenbarger got the Hogs out of that drought with a driving lay-up, her first score of the game, but the Hogs trailed 32-25 at the half.

Wisconsin kept it rolling from beyond the arc out of the half, nailing their eighth of the game to go back up 35-25.

Scott notched up to double digits in scoring for her sixth straight game with a jumper. That jumper initiated a 9-0 run as a Maryam Dauda putback lay-up cut the Badgers’ lead to 35-31 with 6:20 left in the quarter, as Wisconsin called a timeout.

That run continued with a Scott triple, but Wisconsin responded and got out of the drought with a floater. Daniels then tied the game with a 3-pointer at 39-all with less than four left in the frame. Spencer pulled the Hogs get back ahead with a second-chance 3-pointer. With 2:58 left in the quarter, Arkansas led 42-39. Wisconsin tied the game on an and-1. The game was tied at 46-all going into the fourth quarter.

Wisconsin drew a foul and made one of two shots to retake the lead, but Daniels answered with a 3-pointer and Spencer knocked down two free throws, as the Hogs led 51-47 with more than eight minutes left to play in the game.

Wisconsin then knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Hogs’ lead to one, but Daniels answered with one of her own to start a 6-0 run. Wisconsin took a timeout as the Hogs led 56-50 with 6:12 left in the game.

Dauda helped the Hogs keep the run alive to an 10-0 one with a tough lay- and Scott followed with a triple.

The Badgers then went on a 5-1 run as Arkansas held a 62-55 lead with less than four minutes to play. With 1:57 left in the game, Arkansas led 65-59.

The Hogs struggled to get a shot and knock down shots from the free-hrow line to close the game out. Arkansas did not score from the field for the remaining 4:46 of the game, which allowed Wisconsin to trail 65-62 with 59.7 seconds left in the game.

The Hogs missed a 3-pointer, but Emrie Ellis grabbed the offensive board. The Hogs were not able to get the putback basket, allowing Wisconsin to have the ball with 13.6 to play. Wisconsin missed a 3-pointer, but a tie-up gave the Badgers another chance with 5.6 seconds left to play. The Badgers were unable to find the shot they needed.

The Hogs will go back to Florida to face No. 13 Florida State in the SEC/ACC Challenge at 6 p.m. Thursday in Tallahassee.