FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) -- Dana Cherry scored 19 points -- 14 in
the second half -- to lead Arkansas (No. 9 ESPN/USA Today; No. 10 Associated Press) to a 71-61 victory over
Western Kentucky on Saturday.
''When she missed the shot, she was going and getting the
board,'' Arkansas coach Gary Blair said. ''She was squirming
her way in there and that shows a lot of pride.''
Cherry was Western Kentucky's main focus, knowing she was a
threat on the offensive boards, as she grabbed five rebounds under
Arkansas' basket, WKU coach Mary Taylor Cowles said.
Sarah Pfeifer was another focus because she is known for being
feisty on defense, despite the broken nose she suffered against
Southwest Missouri State.
The victory was Arkansas' fifth in a row, and the crowd of 3,517
was the largest of the season in Fayetteville.
Lakishia Harper added 15 points for Arkansas (9-1), one point
shy of her career-high. India Lewis had 14.
''People ... are going to have to start coming out on her
(Harper),'' Blair said. ''They're not respecting her shot on tape
... but she stepped up and hit them today.''
Harper shot 7-for-11 from the field and 1-for-1 from the
free-throw line, as well had a team-high six assists.
Leslie Logsdon scored 17 points for the Lady Toppers (5-4),
Shala Reese scored 16 and Kristina Covington added 14.
Western Kentucky made several second-half charges. But a
3-pointer by Rochelle Vaughn gave Arkansas a six-point lead at
46-40.
The game was tied at 56 with less than five minutes left. A
basket from Harper put Arkansas in the lead. Cherry followed
with a layup to make it 60-56.
Logsdon landed a 3-pointer to get Western Kentucky to a point down.
Then two layups by Cherry put Arkansas up 67-61 with just less than two minutes to play. The Lady Razorbacks finished the game with four
free throws from Cherry and Lewis.
Arkansas scored the game's first six points, then the Lady
Toppers came back and took an 11-9 lead with a layup by Covington
early in the first half.
Arkansas closed to two points with two layups by Pfeifer, but
Covington landed a 3-pointer to secure a 29-22 lead.
Pfeifer, who was playing with a facemask, scored with 3:15 left
in the first period to tie it at 31.
Arkansas led 36-31 going into halftime. In all 10 games this
season, Arkansas has led at the break.
''I'm extremely proud of our team as to how well we played in
spurts,'' Cowles said. ''What our problem is ... is that we're
having difficulty concentrating and preparing ourselves for 40
minutes of basketball.''
Both teams finished with 33 rebounds. Western Kentucky had 33
turnovers, while Arkansas had 17.
Shameka Christon, Arkansas' second-leading scorer, did not play
because of illness.