FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Rogers State put out a valiant effort Wednesday night against the Arkansas Razorbacks but in the end the Hillcats fell 74-58 to the Southeastern Conference opponent in Fayetteville, Ark.
It marked the first-ever meeting for Coach Amy Williams' squad against an NCAA Division I opponent. The Hillcats proved to be formidable opponent for the Hogs despite being less than 24 hours removed from their season opening win at Bacone and limited to just eight available players.
Arkansas' Whitney Jones scored the first points of the game and the Hogs wouldn't relinquish the lead the remainder of the night. UA's largest lead of the game didn't come until 32 seconds remained in the contest when it stretched to 16 points.
The Hillcats capitalized on sharp shooting from senior Hannah Owen, who led the team with a career-high 14 points and 9 rebounds. Owen shot 86 percent from the field and was a perfect 2-for-2 from behind the 3-point stripe.
After hitting on just 1-of-5 attempts in the first half from 3-point range, sophomore guard Hunter Peterson was able to find her touch and knocked down three treys in the second half. Her first conversion from behind the arc brought the Hillcats to within four points at the 16 minute mark of the second half.
Arkansas was led in scoring by senior post player Whitney Jones, who finished with a game-high 20 points in 20 minutes of action. A major difference for the Razorbacks was their ability to wrangle in 20 offensive rebounds for a total of 17 second chance points.
Arkansas' Ashley McCray hit four consecutive free throws down the stretch to push the Razorbacks to 69-56 lead. McCray finished the game with 15 points and 7 rebounds, with the majority of her efforts contributing to the Razorbacks 42-20 point advantage in the paint.
The Hillcats made the score 69-58 with 1:33 remaining when Peterson found fellow sophomore Katie Rice under the basket for the physical layup. However, the Razorbacks scored five points in the final minute of play and put full court pressure on the Hillcats to force two turnovers in the final minute to seal the win.
Rogers State (1-0) returns to the regular season play Saturday against Oklahoma Wesleyan. The Hillcats will celebrate Homecoming at the Claremore Expo with tip-off scheduled for 2 p.m. The game will be aired live on RSU Radio 91.3 FM and on tape delay on RSU Public Television (Cox Cable Channel 19).
