NCAA Tournament: Merriweather had confidence Raiders could advance

Merriweather can always count on her players to rebound and defend. And when they’re scoring at a healthy clip, they can be a handful for anyone.

“They were so locked in, and it was a 40-minute plan. We told them we weren’t going to shut this team out. They average 80 points a game,” Merriweather said by phone from the team’s San Antonio hotel. “We said, ‘They’re going to make tough shots. These things are going to happen, and you’ve just got to stay strong.’ That’s what they did.”

The offense cooled a bit when the Razorbacks went to a zone, but the Raiders were efficient enough to pull out a 66-62 victory — the program’s first in the NCAA tourney.

They’ll face fifth-seeded Missouri State (22-2) in the second round at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Texas-San Antonio Convocation Center. The Lady Bears beat UC Davis, 70-51.

The winner will meet either top-seeded Stanford or Oklahoma State in the Sweet 16.

The Razorbacks are accustomed to tangling with likes of UConn and Baylor, both of which they beat this season. But Merriweather said: “I felt like we had a chance, just because what our strengths were vs. theirs.

“I felt they rely on the 3 a lot, and we’ve done a much better job in the second half of the season at our 3-point field-goal percentage defense. We’ve always done what we could to be a consistent rebounding team, and that’s not a strength of theirs.”

The Razorbacks were fourth in the nation in 3-point shooting, hitting almost 40%. But the Raiders’ quickness has forced foes into 26.5% shooting from beyond the arc this year, the 23rd-best mark in the country.

Arkansas went 7 of 22.

And the Raiders were stout on the glass, finishing with a 44-30 rebounding edge.

But the outcome might have been different if not for some unheralded players.

After the Razorbacks erased an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit and took a 60-58 lead, senior forward Alexis Stover, averaging 2.1 points, hit a corner 3 with 1:05 to go.

Sophomore guard Jada Roberson, who hadn’t made a single free throw in four games, nailed a pair for a four-point lead with 8.1 seconds left.

And a cameo by another sub didn’t go unnoticed.

“When Tank (sophomore forward Shamarre Hale) got in foul trouble, we had to put in Diamond Stokes for a minute,” Merriweather said of her little-used freshman. “She goes in and gets a rebound, doesn’t get scored on, doesn’t turn it over. She did her job in that minute.

“We just have so many people. Practices have been great. Well, that takes all 13 people in practice. The people who didn’t get in the game, they were good in practice. … It was a complete, total (team) effort.”

But most of the post-game buzz centered on Angel Baker. The 5-8 junior from Indianapolis had 26 points, equaled her career high with 12 rebounds and added four steals.

“It’s very clear to us, no matter who we play, that her skill set and athleticism and love for the game shine through over everyone else on the floor,” Merriweather said.

Baker’s board total was five more than the next-highest output on either team.

“That’s heart. When you’re that type of player and just refuse to lose, you do whatever your team needs you to do in order for you to win. That’s what Angel does — whatever it takes for us to win,” the coach said.

The 13th-seeded Raiders became the first team to beat a top-four seed in the opening round since Marist stunned Georgia in 2012.

They’ll get a chance pull another surprise against fifth-seeded Missouri State.

“I think we love the idea of a David vs. Goliath — and the opportunity to win games that people think we shouldn’t based on our seeding,” Merriweather said.

WEDNESDAY’S GAME

Wright State vs. Missouri State, 3 p.m., ESPNU