HANOVER, NH -- The University of Delaware women's basketball team competed well against a white-hot Arkansas team ranked 23rd in the country by USA Today, closing to within eight points with just under five minutes left before falling to the unbeaten Razorbacks, 62-49, on Saturday evening in the first round of the Blue Sky Classic at Dartmouth.

Delaware will face host Dartmouth (1-9) in the consolation game Sunday at 5 p.m. The Big Green lost their opener 64-61 Saturday night as Marquette's Krystal Ellis hit a halfcourt shot just before the final buzzer.

Delaware freshman guard Tesia Harris scored a career-high 12 points for the Blue Hens, who fell to 1-10 on the season with their tenth consecutive defeat. The Razorbacks were led by senior center Lauren Ervin, who scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to record her seventh double-double in nine games.

Arkansas (13-0) stormed to a 7-0 lead behind five points from forward Ayana Brereton, pushing the edge to 22-11 on a free throw by Whitney Jones with 6:50 left in the first half. The Hens clawed back with an 8-0 surge of their own, a run highlighted by four points and a steal from freshman guard Vanessa Kabongo.

Down 27-22 in the final minute of the first half, the Hens had a chance to trim the deficit on the final possession of the period. That’s when Arkansas guard Brittany Vaughn intercepted a Kyle DeHaven pass and raced to the hoop for a buzzer-beating lay-up.

The Razorbacks started the second half much like the first, pouring in seven unanswered points to take command at 36-22. Arkansas maintained that margin for the next ten minutes, but the Blue Hens mounted yet another charge behind sophomore guard Corinthia Benison. UD’s scoring leader over the last four games, she tallied five points during a 9-1 Delaware run that Courtney Irving punctuated with a 15-foot jumper.

Trailing 51-43 with 4:37 left, Delaware needed one big stop to stay within striking distance. But Ervin answered emphatically for the ‘Backs, rattling home a lay-up as she was fouled by Irving. The 6-3 rebound machine converted the three-point play to put the game out of reach and send Delaware to its 12th loss in 13 non-conference games dating back to last season.

Benison finished with 10 points in the defeat, her third double-digit performance in four games, while DeHaven notched six points, eight rebounds, and three steals for the Hens.

Delaware stood tall in the paint against Ervin and Co., matching the Razorbacks on the boards with 40 rebounds. The Hens also forced 20 turnovers and played with more passion than in any other game this year, but they were once again done in by poor shooting. They made just 19 of 61 field goal attempts and went 1-for-9 from three-point range. UD has shot below 35 percent from the floor in nine of its 11 games.

Arkansas, one of just three undefeated teams in the country, got 15 points from Brereton, 10 from Charity Ford, and a 9-point, 9-board night from Jones.

Irving and Kabongo scored six apiece for Delaware, which will face the loser of tonight’s Marquette-Dartmouth game at 5 p.m. on Sunday.

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