Arkansas Topples UConn, 90-87

The largest crowd of the year in all of women’s college basketball saw a big one, as the 19^th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks got one over on the dynastic 3^rd-ranked UConn Huskies, 90-87. A big third quarter, when the Hogs went 6/7 from behind the three-point line, helped Arkansas overcome a two-point half-time deficit. Arkansas ended UConn’s 19-game win streak.

Chelsea Dungee led all scorers with a season-high 37 points. She hasn’t scored less than 20 since December. This may have been the best game of her already-stellar career.

Sharpshooter Amber Ramirez had a big game from behind the arc, scoring 22 points on 5/10 shooting from three-point land. She also made a big defensive play when she snuck behind Aaliyah Edwards, trying to finish the pick-and-roll and bowling over Ramirez. Edwards, who’d been playing well in the post for UConn, picked up her fifth foul and exiting the game in the third quarter.

The Razorbacks’ ten-point lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter dwindled over five minutes, and UConn took the lead back. But immediately after a timeout, Arkansas got a pair of free throws from Dungee and another big three from Ramirez to tie and then take the lead.

Much-ballyhooed freshman Paige Bueckers led UConn with 27 points and kept the Huskies in the game in the fourth period. Cristyn Williams, the Little Rock native, finished with 16 in her state homecoming.

Unbelievable game! Beating the biggest dog in the history of women’s college basketball is something else. What a moment.