Auburn dropped its fourth straight as its struggles in conference play continued Sunday evening as the Tigers fell to Arkansas, 68-58.
The Tigers struggled to find the bottom of the net in the first half, shooting 30.4 percent and failing to hit a shot from outside the arc. The offensive struggles for the Tigers peaked in the second quarter when they shot 18 percent from the field and only scored six points. Arkansas took advantage of the offensive woes and piled on 25 points in the quarter bringing the halftime score to 41-17 in favor of the Hogs.
The suffocating Tiger defense was absent most of the game, and only forced 12 turnovers compared to the 24 forced turnovers Auburn averaged entering the night.
“We have to be discipline in our defense," Auburn head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "We know exactly what we need to do, and we just need to go out there and do it."
Arkansas’ three-point shooting (9-of-20) in the first half was what made the difference as the Razorbacks did not hit another three after the half.
“They are making eight threes a game, and we gave them that in the first half," Williams-Flournoy said. “The game plan was to not to allow them to get the threes off and they did.”
After the half, the Tigers got back to the basics by forcing turnovers and outscoring Arkansas 41-27, but that was not enough for the Tigers to mount a serious comeback.
The night was bittersweet for star player Janiah McKay as she finished with a game-high 26 points and scored her 1,000th career point for Auburn.
“It’s an honor to play for Auburn basketball, I wouldn’t want to do it at any other place,” McKay said. “But, getting a win right now is the most important thing on my mind.”
The Tigers (10-7, 1-4) will look to snap their losing streak as they travel to Baton Rouge next to take on LSU on Jan. 18.
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