Guru’s WBB March Madness - IV: First SEC Team Toppled

By Mike Siroky

The start of the six -game march to a title had three of three of four  SEC teams advance on the second day of the elimination tournament.

Half of the field is back on the on the bus with a participation prize of having made it this year, a highlight for the next preseason guide.

 One SEC teams surprisingly joined them.

Three of seven league teams, two nationally ranked, are in the round of 32 which resumes Tuesday with three more SEC possibilities.

Texas, this  year coached by the former Mississippi State coach, also won, his 20th. He had State in five straight elimination tournaments. The new coach inherited a team with some all-stars and didn’t get it done.

Texas A&M 84, Troy 80

The Aggies won the Southeastern regular-season title.

They are ranked No. 4 in the nation, the best of the best league.

Yet they are not the top seed of the conference entries.

Only the logic of the Selection Committee can explain that. They even fooled the bracketology expert on ESPN.

Apparently, prior results do not guarantee future earnings. 

No. 2 seed A&M took on No.15 Troy. There is little assignment differences between a No.1 and No. 2 after all. A&M was ranked fifth nationally.

It led to an escape.

Coach Gary Blair, likely the best coach in the league this year without a true star player, felt an NCAA snub.

 “I love to go out and show people what this team can do,” Blair said before the game began.  “And what this coaching staff and I can do to put together a game plan. I’m not one of the blue bloods yet, but I’m in the conversation.”

In the NCAAs, there is always the question if the women on the Selection Committee over overvalue women coaches. “I’ve got to be politically correct on everything I say, or it’s against me and I’ll act like a sore loser and all that type of stuff,” Blair said. “I had a feeling we would possibly be a 2. 

“Only because I know how committees work. And a lot of times it’s what have you done for me lately.” 

Center Cierra Johnson  said “I know for a lot of girls who are from the state of Texas, they’re excited about this because our parents can come to the majority of the games. As a Texas girl, it feels good being able to play down the street.”

A&M is 27-15 in the elimination tournament,13-3 in opening rounds of the tournament. 

A&M is one of six teams to be led by a national championship winning coach, one of two in conference.

The Aggies are led by 6-2 senior forward N'dea Jones and Aaliyah Wilson, the 19^th and 20^th AP All-Americans in program history. 

Jones is the A&M’s all-time leader in doubles (41). She is already the best rebounder in program history, so each rebound sets the new school record, entering this one at 1,026. 

Troy is the champion of the Sun Belt Conference (22-5). 

The Trojans are making their fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the first since 2017. Troy is the third-highest scoring team in the country, (86.2). The Trojans’ best is Alexus Dye (16.2 and 12.6 rebounds).

The game was played on the University of Texas campus, a short trip for the Aggies, in a prime time evening session. It probably makes sense that a team playing in-state was more comfortable
 It is A&M's fifth time as a No. 2 seed. They were the highest seed playing Monday.

A&M allowed 22 points less on average than Troy averaged, Troy took advantage of that.

The game was played on the University of Texas campus, 79 miles north of San Antonio but still a short trip for the Aggies, an $8 train ride from San Antone. 

But there’s more.  Kayla Wells, a 6-0 senior guard (11.7) and 6-4 senior center Johnson (10) have started every game in their careers, with Jones.

  Their consistency has led the Aggies here. Aaliyah Wilson,  5-11 senior guard (12.5) and Jordan Nixon 5-8 junior guard (9.5) have started every game this season.

“We had a week practicing on guessing who we might play,” said Jones. “We’re all kinda playing with a chip on our shoulders especially after the bracket came out.

 “We’re in a different environment because everyone is good. We have to have good starts.”

To that end, the Aggies found some of the workout gear provided was not up to expected quality, just like the weight rooms for workouts. She said A&M brought their own, which is not the same for lesser teams.

She said the team was also denied access to each other even for meals. So even environmental issues are a challenge.

As for Troy, they are particularly adept at rebounding, her area of impact. “Our main concern is rebounding,” Jones said.

Destiny Pitts, 5-10 senior guard and Alexis Morris, 5-6 junior guard are first off the bench. Blair calls the substitutions. 

Others on the coaching staff devise the offense and the defensive sets.

A&M has six players who started elsewhere: Pitts (Minnesota), Nixon (Notre Dame), sparkplug  6-5 Anna Dremaine (Colorado State); Zaay Green (Tennessee),  Wilson (Arkansas), Johnson (Louisville) . All came to A&M for the coaching.

All five Trojan starters are in double figures, led by 6-0 senior forward Alexus Dye (16.2 points and 12.7 rebounds a game).

 She is vertically challenged as they all are against A&M and oughta be a good project for N’dea Jones. Senior guard Tiyah Johnson, 5-10, (13.1, with 42 3s and 45 assists), Felmas Karanga, a 6-1 forward, from Nigeria, (12.1), senior guard,5-6 Jasmine Robinson (11.4 with 45 assists and 29 3s) and 5-7 senior guard Janiah Sandifer (10.7, 47 3s) help spread the points around.’

Troy lost big in the regular season to non-qualifier Mississippi State.

A&M eased out to 25-17 after one. They started the second 10-5.

Jones was establishing her game with eight points and four rebounds. But five Aggies had already scored more than once. Blair was liberally substituting. 

It was 35-24 with four minutes before halftime. They had caused eight turnovers, the Aggies getting 11 points off those.

The 49-35 half was the biggest lead. Jones had 10 with six rebounds and a block. Nixon had 10 with two 3s. Eight Aggies scored. Dye led Troy with 12. Troy is the No. 1 rebounding team in America, but A&M matched them with 23.

Troy burst out with a 17-10 start of the third. Cierra Johnson was the first to double, 11 points and rebounds. Dye had 20 points and 11 rebounds, so she had exceeded her scoring average. Troy was not going anywhere.

A&M scored seven straight to push the lead to 11. The third wound into a patient A&M lead. Even that didn’t stand as the officials called a foul at the buzzer and Troy hit two free throws for a 65-58 edge.

The Aggies blew a 16-point lead, eventually allowing a 73-all tie in a road race.

 Troy was playing on guts, four players with four fouls each. Blair was pleading for his team to just settle down and run the plays. He had shed his suitcoat..

Nixon and Johnson had scored 16 each.  Troy got three rebounds on one possession and kept it tied, at 75.  Koranga became the center of the offense, 19 points with 11 rebounds, just as Johnson was doing for the Aggies, 10 points and 11 rebounds. Jones had doubled as well, 11 points and 10 rebounds.

A&M was up by two when Nixon was tripped, 30 seconds left. It fouled out Dye. Nixon missed her first free throw but hit the second.  She had 21 points.

Koranga was fouled, hit one but Troy tied up the possession. It was 80-78 with 24 seconds left. they went for the quick 3. The 4-for-23 3 shooting held. Nixon got the rebound.

A&M muffed the inbounds. As they fell on the rolling basketball, they had the possession arrow. Destiny Pitts, the transfer from Minnesota, was fouled. She hit both to forge a four-point lead.

A&M was willing to not guard. Bob Starkey, the defensive coordinator, set the A&M scheme. It did not quite work. A&M had fouls to give. Troy knew they would foul and so set up A&M for a foul from 3 range, which Wilson did.

Sandifer, a senior, hit one of two. It was 82-80 with 4.2 left. The refs missed an over and back. Instead, Pitt was fouled. All the big scorers on both sides had to see if she would make them. She did.

The NCAA statistic: No. 2s are 103-0 in these seed matchups.

Starkey said, “Obviously  we’re a little disappointed we let them get it to that point. Troy obviously had more energy.  At the end, kudos to coach Blair  for having them (the free throw shooters) in the game. They want those free throws. They hit them.

“Aliyah had the athleticism to do what she did. We have been working on having her bury the person is defending, forcing her deep.

“You are not going to dominate an NCAA tournament game. They are all good here. We came out lethargic after halftime and that’s on us.”

Wilson kept her teammates organized in the court, following the game plan even when Troy made its runs.

“We know who us going to  knock them down, they have ice in their veins. When we get the ball, we know who to get it to.

“When they (Troy) had the advantage (inn their runs) it was up to us to talk to each ither and say, ‘Hey, we ae playing their game’ and take it back to our game.”

Iowa State awaits.

 

Alabama 80, North Carolina 71

Senior Jordan Lewis extended her career with the most scoring she has ever done,  32. That was the most individual points in the tournament to that point.

The Tide rolled, maintaining a double-digit lead for  most of the game. They had 11 3s with 22 assists.

Alabama, seventh in the conference and the  last with a non-losing SEC record, drew a before-noon start against North Carolina Here are two schools from wonderful conferences , with the Tide nevertheless a No.7 against a No.10 seed. North Carolina has not been here since 1999.  

This is Alabama coach Kristy Curry’s first Tide foray, though she did coach Purdue and Texas Tech into the brackets. She left the Big Ten for the chance to replace a legend at Tech, then came to Alabama in 2013. She had surpassed 300 coaching wins by then. She is past 400 now. Alabama is in its first NCAA appearance in 22 seasons.

“It means a lot,” said Curry. “It’s not about me, I’m just a tiny piece of this.”

She campaigned hard for an NCAA spot last season. This season, she let her players build to 16-9. A 20^th win would need  an unlikely advance to the Elite Eight. But they have 17 now.

To prepare, Curry used the week off for rest and recovery.

“It’s no different than anything we had in the SEC season,” said Curry.

Balance was one of the biggest priorities throughout the week.

“You need to be smart about your body,” said redshirt senior Jordan Lewis. “You don’t want to sit around and not do anything, but you don’t want to overwork your body.”’

“We couldn’t even take that approach with who we think we might play,” said Curry.

For the first time since preseason workouts, the players stepped on the court with no scouting report and no team in front of them.

“We’re just focusing on ourselves and the fundamentals,” said Lewis. “It’s just important to stick to what you do as a team.”

“At the level we’re about to approach, everyone can shoot the ball and everyone can drive the ball,” said Lewis. “It’s more about us and sticking to what we do.”

“We can compete and beat anybody,” said Curry.

Three of Alabama’s 2018 seniors – Hannah Cook, Meo Knight and Williams – have all scored at  least 1,000 points, marking the first time in program history Alabama has had three 1,000-point scorers on the same team. Cook finished her career eighth in the program in scoring (1,468) first in 3 attempts (781) and fourth in makes (262). Williams also had a record-setting career, finishing her four years  fifth in rebounding (859) and ninth in scoring (1,450).

Jasmine Walker (16.9 points per game), a 6-3 senior forward and Lewis, a 5-7 junior guard (16.8) propel this team . 

Leading North Carolina are Janelle Baily, (14.5,with 8.1 rebounds) a 6-4 senior, Petra Holešínská, (12.2, with 64 assists) a 5-10 grad student from the Czech Republic, and 5-8 freshman guard  Deja Kelly (11.2 with 64 assists), another freshman, 6-1 guard Alyssa Ustby  (10,with 5.4 assists) only missed one start.

Alabama started 8-5. It was 14-8 when Walker drove for a layup , was fouled and made the free throw. Hannah Barber hit her second 3 to push the lead to 19-10.  NC scored five straight, but Lewis scored her sixth point on a drive,  score and free throw. It was 22-15 at the quarter break.

Bailey picked up her second foul early in the first, slowing the Tar Heels. Alabama maintained a seven-point lead, then Lewis hit a 3. Both sides were using 3s, five by NC and four by the Tide. Ally Copeland picked up her second foul for NC. 

Jordan had 15, Barber hit her third 3. 

Alabama put the halftime lead at 10, 41-31. The seven-point first quarter advantage had more than held. Alabama would ride it all the way until the end. Lewis had 18. NC was led by Stephanie Watts with 13, including three 3s.

In the third, Lewis continued to burn with  3.  Aliyah Copeland took a seat with her third foul. NC cut the led to six, but Lewis hit another 3, her fourth. Holešínská charged. 

NC was having a hard time closing the gap with a 2:40 scoring pause. Lewis took an offensive rebound and drive for her 26^th point, 10 over her average.

Three free throws by Lewis (team was 9-of-9) cut the lead to 52-45. But the Tar Heels were 1-of-8 for several minutes. Copeland was back in and scored. It was 60-50 at the third break, Alabama answering every challenge.

Jordan Lewis made her career-best 30 to keep it at nine with less than seven minutes left. She doubled with 10 rebounds, Walker was slow to cut loose, but finally  did, advancing to 13 with eight rebounds. Barber had 14 points.

North Carolina tried full-court pressure, but Copeland broke that inside of three minutes. She had 11 with 12 rebounds. It was 78-66 with two minutes left. The SEC was about to put a fifth team into the Round of 32.

Alabama was cool. The Tide had one fourth quarter foul.

With 1:11 to go, it was 78-71 after Watts, in her second go-round with NC, hit a 3. The pressure defense worked as Alabama couldn’t advance the inbounds and fell to a 10-second ruling.

It was going to be free throws. Lewis hit two and the lead was nine. Carolina time out. Alabama claimed a rebound after two misses. But Barber traveled. Didn’t matter, the clock was running out on the Tar Heels.

It ended 80-71.

“It was an incredible effort, total team,” Curry said. “Our incredible point guard. Copeland turned it one for a double. When you draw that much attention it opens it up for others.

“So many fans, my two daughters re here. Roll Tide.”

Alabama won rebounds by 13. They had 21 assists on 29 baskets, 11 3s, 11-of-14 free throws, 6-of-8 by Lewis.

Alabama gets the best of the Big 10, No. 2 seed Maryland, No. 7 nationally, on Wednesday. Former Mississippi State starter Chloe Bibby now starts for the turtles.

Georgia 81, Drexel 53

Georgia had to adjust its lineup for the first time all season.

Leading scorer Gabby Connally rolled her ankle and was available for only 11 minutes, Jen Staiti was late to the game for some reason and also did not start, but was available.

 Losing two of five regular starters affected each side, Connally averaging 32 minutes per game, Staiti 24.

 Georgia had the same starters all season until now, the most consistent in America

Athleticism won out. 

Georgia advanced.

 It was never more apparent that the No.4 team in the Southeastern Conference is better than the champs of the Colonial Athletic Conference.

No.3 seed Georgia is senior-dominated, propelled by the backcourt of Connally  (12 points per game) and Que Morrison (14). Staiti (14.8, 8 rebounds)  is the middle anchor. They won seven of  the past nine games.

No. 14 Drexel came in with a three-game win streak from the league tournament.  They knocked 21-4 Delaware into the NIT. Such is the lack of value of a lesser conference. 

All season, the ‘Dawgs (20-6) outscored the Dragons by 10 points per game. Drexel (14-8) allowed three fewer points.

Georgia coach Joni Taylor said,  “You have to do everything right or there are no more chances. I think that we understand that.”

“We want to bring (the championship) home, and I know I keep saying it so maybe the more I say it, the more positive vibes get put in the air, but we want to win a national championship,” said Georgia guard Connally.

Amy Mallon is the Drexel coach. She has been in charge for one season, but had been with the program for 17 years as an assistant. She got the job when her predecessor moved up to Villanova.

 They had three games Covid-canceled.

“The defense is always going to be a staple,” Mallon said. “That’s something I believe is that part of being a team everyone can be recognized for so that’s always going to be our staple. On the offensive end, my philosophy has always been that you have to work with the personnel. 

“I think it changes year-to-year with who you have on the court and what they’re capable of doing. And that does change every year because different people step up. You learn that as they move up in age, responsibility and how they develop as players.

“My goal is team basketball. That’s my favorite part about the game is everyone be involved, but you’re also going to tailor to your strengths, whatever that may be.”

Hannah Nihil, a 5-3 senior guard is the leading scorer (16, with 44 3s and 84 assists), followed by 5-7 junior guard Keishana Washington (15).  She scored 30 in the title game. The best rebounder is 5-10 Miah Leonard, a grad student, but she had two fouls in the first minutes, offsetting the loss of Staiti.

Georgia had every physical advantage at every position.

Gabby Connally is one of two SEC players in the tournament from San Antonio.

“There are no words for it,” she said. “Just the way it all happened is really crazy and obviously I’m super excited to be heading back home. I know there are some friends and family that will get to see me in person who have yet to see me play in person. I’m just fortunate enough to have friends and family who watch me on TV. I have a lot more people who want to see me do well rather than see me fail. That’s just so uplifting.

“For me to be able to finish out my last year at home and play some of my last collegiate games in San Antonio is going to be something really special. I’m really excited. It’s going to be bittersweet but obviously I’m looking forward to it and I’m looking forward to bringing home a trophy too.”

Coach Joni Taylor said, “The SEC was really, really tough. I do wish we had more SEC teams in; I do think LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State- when you look at just at our league and how tough it is I just wish we could have gotten one more team in, but overall, looking at the tournament I am extremely happy with not only where we are but, how well the SEC represented women’s basketball.

“The biggest thing is that these players play for each other and they play with their hearts, they’re tough and we have a lot of depth. If we can stay healthy, we will be able to make a really big run as long as we play together, and people step up and make big plays. 

“ You know we are dangerous. We have a lot of depth, and on any given night it could be anyone could be a difference maker for us. That is what has allowed us to get to this point. 

“That is what will allow us to make a run in the NCAA Tournament, and hopefully compete for a championship. What makes us dangerous is our depth and that on any given night it could be anybody. So far we have all been ready when our number has been called.

“They’ve lived through a lot in their 21-22 years. They’ve seen a lot.  They saw us walk out of Greenville, S.C. last year and expected to have a team meeting in a week and that never happened and we were separated from each other for months. 

“They don’ take anything for granted. This is something that they have dreamed of since they came to Georgia. They came to Georgia to compete in the NCAA Tournament and to advance and to continue to rewrite the legacy of Georgia Basketball and to add on to it and enhance it. 

“They put themselves into this position and I think that they have been tremendous in being leaders for our young women on this team to show them the way. 

 We have a fun group and we have a lot of fun, but when it’s time to get down to business we’re are able to do that.  I think the balance of enjoying the moment and enjoying each other, but also being able to put our hard hat on and get to work has allowed us to be as successful as we’ve been this year.”

 Drexel started 8-2, Nihil with half the points. No one was smooth, Georgia’s first field goal didn’t come until replacement starter Mikayla Coombs hit at 3:24 left in the quarter . Drexel adjusted more quickly. The ’Dawgs trailed at the quarter break, 15-10.  Coombs had four points. Staiti worked back in but did not score.

Georgia started the second 8-2 and took the lead at 18-17. It was 25-all at halftime. No one scored well, but seldom-used junior guard Caitlin Hose had six for the Bulldogs in her 10^thgame appearance. Staiti had not scored at all. Neither side was using the 3.

Georgia had 13 turnovers and only four assists on nine field goals. Drexel had yet to attempt a free throw and that continued in the third quarter. Georgia was 5-of-6 at the line.

Staiti hit four straight baskets and her only free throw for nine in the 15-10 third. She had five defensive rebounds. She stayed awake, at one flurry in the third hitting a 3, a long jumper and a regular basket in two minutes

She played 20 minutes  and led Georgia scoring with 19, 7-of-9 from the field 2-of-2 3s. Shei had scored in double figures in 31 of the past 36 games. Morrison scored 11. 

 “"I want to start by tipping my hat off to Drexel," Taylor said. 

“Amy (Mallon) has done a really good job all year long. They're a tough team, the action they run is very difficult to guard, and they've got two great players in Nihill and  Washington. 

“I thought we did a really good job of settling in, disrupting them on the defensive end and some of their turnovers gave us a chance to get our offense going. They did a really good job of smothering us on the offensive side of the floor, but they're a really good team.

“I'm proud of our young ladies and what they've been able to do since getting to San Antonio. There have obviously been a whole lot going on in terms of being in quarantine and the inequities of being in the bubble, but they put their heads down and continued to work. I'm just really proud of how they played."

To open, Georgia struggled to make plays in what was a Drexel-dominated first quarter. A six-minute scoring zero for the  ’Dawgs allowed the Dragons to take a 8-2 lead. Georgia scored eight points in three minutes. Morrison's shot at the buzzer off an offensive rebound made it a five-point game going into the second quarter, Drexel leading 15-10.

Georgia took advantage of a Drexel scoring drought to start the second. Coming off the bench, little-used junior Caitlin Hose  made a Georgia impact. Having averaged only two points per game this season, she scored six points in the second quarter with consecutive 3s. Her first marked Georgia's first 3 of the game and also gave the Lady Dogs their first lead,18-17, since the opening minutes. 

It settled into a give and take and was 25-all at intermission.

Unleashed in the third quarter,  Staiti opened the second half with nine of Georgia's 15 third-quarter points. Redshirt junior Coombs, starting replacement for Connally, scored four. Her second basket of the quarter put Georgia ahead for good at 31-27.

A Staiti 3  ended the third at 40-35 .  

 Defense came into play after that. Georgia in the fourth 2718, with 11 from Staiti.

Wright State 66, Arkansas 62

The No. 15 Razorbacks had a prime time slot, 2 p.m. at the University of Texas; gym, to show the basketball world what the No. 6 team in the Southeastern Conference, a four seed, could do against another conference’s champ, a 13 seed. No. 13 seeds were just 9-104 all-time.

What they showed was another lackluster effort and what happens in their losses, when the 3s do not fall.

The Razorbacks fail to win 20.

The pregame statistic, the difference between what Arkansas averages and what Wight State allows was 28 points. That certainly went blammo. 

It was the Arkansas’s first NCAA appearance since 2015 and the highest seeding since 1991, before Mike Neighbors arrived. 

The program has never played Wright State,. Arkansas was the highest ranked they have been since 1995, but for the exciting in-season upsets, they are clearly not in the SEC elite, only in the lower part of the league Top 10.

Their coach is a former assistant for Alabama coach Kristy Curry. They are Horizon League champs, so the SEC had a chance to pit its No. 6 team (19-8) against a conference champ is a valuation of conferences. Horizon wins.

Arkansas went 8-2 in the last 10 of the regular season, an old NCAA seeding emphasis. 

“We didn’t change anything (in practices),” said Neighbors. “No opponent (focus), just on our team, won’t change anything. We are as fresh as they have been.

“ We learned a lot of things we can do even when the pandemic is  not here. We are  preparing to sequestered in hotel and what that does to you, a draining process. We did not do well in our first attempt at a higher seed. There wasn’t any lingering effect. Player appreciation   is at an all-time high. They have set the bar for what you are supposed to be like this week. We had a best-of-seven series, Red vs. White.”

When he got to San Antonio, testing showed he had the flu.

“Who knew? But I kicked its butt overnight,” he said.  It is one of what he termed five wins since starting the NCAs, including travel the arena is two house away from the hotel) , getting checked in, passing Covid tests and practice.

I’d say we also kicked butt on the first lunch,” he observed.

“The main focus is on us, as Chelsea said, just shooting it.”

“I want the kids to experience this tournament. So they can tell all the others to follow) this is a big dell, an important tournament 

“No one knows who is coming back (seniors have a free extra eligibility year). Not being in the bubble conversation is a good place to be. We packed for 24 days.”

Chelsea Dungee, of course, is the silent sniper (22.2 points per game, with a 79 percent free throw average, a USA best163 made, 38 percent on 3s). Her 27 points surpassed that. She was 14-of-18 t the line. 

She is probably the third-best conference player and has had an All-American year. She is one of two Razorbacks to have played in an NCAA tournament game, when at Oklahoma. Interestingly enough, her NCAA game was a loss to Washington, then coached by Neighbors.

 Destiny Slocum was in NCAA games when at Oregon State. No other Razorback has played in one.

“Getting on the court, dribbling makes this like any other game,” she said. “We’re all excited and ready for the journey ahead of us. We’re all excited. It’s always been a goal to put Arkansas in the NCAA tournament. This is just the start of it. 

“We’re all excited. We out that (the SEC) behind us. We earned a good seed.”

Destiny Slocum, 5-7 senior (15.5 with 104 assists), Amber Ramirez, 6-9 senior (13.7, with  a .446 percentage on 3s), Makayla Daniels, 5-9 sophomore (11.6 with 42 assists) are the other top scorers. Ramirez is delighted  to share her hometown with the team.

Arkansas has hit 260 3s of 768 field goals, 75 by Ramirez, 55 by Dungee, 52 by Slocum, 42 by Daniels, 21 by Jailyn Mason, four others with less than four. When the bombs land in the catch-and-shoot offense its is devastating. One of the film reviews from the SEC tournament showed Arkansas was getting open looks but misfiring. They used practice time to make sure that problem might be eradicated. It was  not.

Wright State (18-7) earned its bid by winning the Horizon League Championship, for its three-game win streak. They did not allow a 3 in a game and  half. They are led by 5-8 junior guard Angel Baker, (18.1 points per game, the only double-digit scorer). She scored 26, again their only double-digit scorer.

“I’d compare her to an SEC-level guard,” said Neighbors. “Every team has one like her, who can beat you.” The Raiders only played one game against the Power Five all season, as then-No. 24 Michigan beat them in Ann Arbor in December .

This is Arkansas’ 12^th appearance ever in the NCAA Tournament. They are 14-12  in the tournament,  9-3 in opening rounds. 

The Raiders’ past two NCAA tournaments ended in opening losses to SEC teams Kentucky and Texas A&M They have had at least 23 wins for five straight seasons and rode the momentum of nine straight wins. 

State started 13-9. The quick Arkansas 3s were not falling. Daniels hit one.  Ramirez his one. That was it.

Wright led by eight at the quarter break, They. had to feel good  as long as Arkansas could not establish range and cut down turnovers. They had five turnovers in the first quarter against a season game average 10.

Dungee was 4-for-4 at the line, continuing her national reputation.

State moved to 24-14. Arkansas needed to start digging out from a 6-0 run in 26 seconds. They were 4-of-14 on 3s. Dungee only attempted one. Ramirez was 1-of--5. And no one stepped up.

Baker had 14 for the Raiders and the lead was 33-19, definitely at Wright’s  slower pace, with Arkansas doing nothing about it. Dungee’s six pathetically led the Razorbacks. She hit another free throw, 33-22, two minutes until halftime.

It appeared Arkansas would end the season with consecutive losses to lesser teams. Baker had 18, already at her season average. It was 38-26.

Arkansas was never in gear. They trailed at the end of three, 49-41.

The deciding quarter was simply more of the same, a better game plan, executed well, a scorching defense and few mistakes. Arkansas was cleaned and pressed in one of the  bigger first-round upset of the tournament. It was Wright State’s first win in the tournament.

Arkansas started the fourth with four more misses and a foul. State hit one free throw and a jump shot for an 11-point edge. Daniels hit a 3. It was a 12-point deficit with 7:44 left in the season, Arkansas could clearly feel it.

Dungee hut a 3. The next possessions were turnovers and a giveaway on a steal. State scored again before Daniels hit two free throws. She scored 11 but fouled out and so was unavailable in the end game.

Jada Wright was called for a flagrant foul, pushing  Dungee after she stole it. She hit one tech free throw and one on a   foul. That got the deficit to as close as it had been, three. State’s point guard, Emani Jefferson foul out. She felt she had failed her mission sobbing on the bench.

Marquesha Davis hit a consequential Razorback jumper. State scored, but Erynn Barnum did two, six sudden Arkansas Razorback points in 30 seconds, the one tiny window where they hurried the game. State missed on three straight possessions. They were staggering but not knocked down. Daniels fumbled it way and then fouled out trying to recover. All this in a one-point game.

State was working harder. It took three possessions, but a jumper finally fell.

Arkansas committed another turnover. State had a steal and committed two fouls. Dungee hit one free throw, her third straight trip where she hit 1of-2.

Each side turned it over. Just inside of two minutes, Dungee hit  a 3. Arkansas led by one. It was the final basket of her career so far. She did grab a rebound, was fouled and hit one of two again. The best free throw maker in the nation had missed four of eight. That never happened before.

With 1:07 left, State cashed in a 3 by who else but their best player, an uncovered Baker. 

“It feels good man,” Baker said. “We made history for our program, for our university ... Definitely feel like we were underestimated. A lot of teams fail to realize numbers don’t mean nothing though, so they probably look at it like an underdog. We stepped up to the challenge.”

The lead was recovered by a Davis shot.

Baker hit a 3, Arkansas could only miss and foul. Two free throws by State . Two free throws settled the scoring. Dungee missed a 3. Baker missed two free throws.

Arkansas made 17 shots on 50 attempts. But the 3s died, 7of-2-2. Live by the 3  . . .

Arkansas had 15 turnovers. 

Associate head coach Todd Schaefer said, “ We are not ready for the season to be over.

“It’s hard. We did not come down here for this. They were super-aggressive. It was just an NCAA tournament game. Until you have been in one and feel the stress .  . . there’s nothing you can do to feel that.

“They’re an SEC-caliber defense. We knew that scouting them. The game was disjointed. We could not get the pace we wanted. Sometimes you can do all the right things and not get the result.

“We made that run and even took the lead for a minute.

“We needed one or two more plays.

“Disappointing we could not get to the finish line with this group. This loss will hurt for a  long time. We won the year, but not today”

Neighbors said, “Wright State was clearly the better team from tip to buzzer. We may have taken a one-point lead at some time there in the fourth quarter, but they just put the ball in Baker’s hands and let her make us wrong, which she did a whole bunch.”

Here’s the compelling thought; Dungee could come back with the magic ticket of an extra season granted to all seniors who played through the Covid era.

So she could play on. She is not good enough for the WNBA. If she wants to play hoops in America, there’s the option.

That’s a summertime decision.