Arkansas hopeful for junior’s return

University of Arkansas women’s basketball Coach Mike Neighbors isn’t positive if redshirt junior Erynn Barnum will be available for tonight’s game at Alabama, but there’s no question having her back can make a significant difference.

Barnum started the first nine games and was the team’s leading rebounder before being sidelined with a knee injury. She’s missed the past six weeks but returned to practice full bore on Tuesday and looked strong, Neighbors said.

He’s still not committing, but Neighbors said he’s hopeful Barnum will be available tonight’s game at Tuscaloosa, Ala., which is slated for an 8 p.m. tip-off at Coleman Coliseum. The Razorbacks (11-6, 1-3 SEC) will try to bounce back from Sunday’s 61-52 loss to No. 1 South Carolina and could use Barnum’s help.

Arkansas has been forced to ask freshmen Emrie Ellis and Jersey Wolfenbarger

and even junior Destinee Oberg to guard bigger, stronger and more experienced post players in Barnum’s absence. Neighbors said the others have done their best, but Barnum knows what it’s like because she’s done it already.

“I think Erynn gives us things we’ve been lacking,” Neighbors said. “She gives us some experience in there guarding bigger players, an understanding of what it takes to win in the SEC. I don’t think that Jersey or Emrie or Oberg have backed down one second from the fight. They just haven’t done it the SEC.

“I was really proud of how they’ve done it, but Erynn’s got some moxie about her. We’ve known that about her since her high school days. She is a gamer.”

The 6-5 Wolfenbarger finished with three points on 1-of-11 shooting against South Carolina on Sunday but contributed plenty of positives that didn’t necessarily show up on a stat sheet, especially going up against All-American Aliyah Boston, Neighbors said.

“She kept them from being able to score around the basket very easily,” Neighbors said. “A lot of those balls ended up on side outs rather than a basket. Then we’d get a stop on that possession. And even though she didn’t shoot the ball well offensively, she moved it and by moving it, it opened up a lot of driving lanes because she was able to draw Boston away from the basket.

“I thought she was real effective on both ends. And the minutes that she wasn’t, even though Emrie battled and did all that they scored more often.”

Barnum was off to a strong start in her first season as a full-time starter, averaging 11.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and she’s anxious to be back, Neighbors said.

“We’ve taken our time with it and I think we’ve done it the right way and she has, too,” he said. “But I know she’s eager.”

The Razorbacks face an Alabama team that’s on a four-game losing skid, but Neighbors calls the Crimson Tide dangerous.

Alabama (10-7, 1-5) had just eight players available in Sunday’s 85-77 loss to Florida because of covid-19 issues. Senior Hannah Barber, who had started every game before that, was one of the players out for Alabama. She averages 8.4 points, along with a teambest 3.1 assists per game and shoots a team-high 42% (36of-85) from three-point range.

The Crimson Tide led 6657 with 8:28 left, but couldn’t hold on. Alabama also led No. 13 Georgia 48-29 at halftime less than two weeks ago, but the Bulldogs rallied for a 7268 victory.

Junior Makayla Daniels led a late charge by Arkansas against South Carolina, slicing a 20-point deficit to four. The Gamecocks surged again late to pull away for the win. Daniels scored 13 of her 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Neighbors said following the loss that the late run against the top-ranked team in the country showed him something about his team.

“I learned that, for certain, if we can stick together and hang together for these last, what do we have left 13 games? If we can play that hard for 13 more games, then I think we’ve got a chance to be in the NCAA Tournament,” Neighbors said. “I really do.

“It’s going to be hard in our league because our league is really good. But I think we’ve battled. We’ve done all the things we need to do to play as many games as we can. So I think I learned that we got the team that can do that.”