Arkansas junior forward Sarah Watkins was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week for her performances in the Razorbacks wins over Vanderbilt and LSU over the weekend. Photo by File Photo.

Arkansas’ women’s basketball team had a rough start in conference.

The Razorbacks began SEC play with a 0-4 record, including three losses against ranked opponents.

It all changed when Auburn came to town on a Sunday and Arkansas junior post Sarah Watkins took control.

Watkins had 12 points and four rebounds, while helping to lead the team to their first SEC victory.

Four days later, Watkins came up big again when Arkansas played No. 25 Vanderbilt, scoring a team-high 21 points and blocking a career-high six shots.

“It’s really important for me not to try and block shots so I don’t get into foul trouble, but I think the timing was just there,” Watkins said. “I don’t think it was anything great I did on my part. I think it was just everything was flowing for me tonight.”

The 6-foot-3 junior helped the Razorbacks win their third consecutive conference game Sunday at LSU, a 72-52 win in a game Arkansas led by 16 at half.

Watkins and 6-foot-2 forward Ashley Daniels have provided the Razorbacks with solid post play in their three-game winning streak.

“We don’t have any superstars, so we really need a lot of kids to contribute especially those two,” Arkansas coach Tom Collen said.

Watkins struggled in the first four conference games, averaging 7.3 points and shooting just 21.4 percent from the field.

He also saw her turn around in their two wins.

“Let’s face it, our first three (conference) games of the year were arguably against the three best teams in the league,” Collen said. “She was OK against Georgia, but not great. Against Kentucky, she had the worst game of her career. That was hard for her. Against Tennessee she didn’t even get any shots. I think she was 0 for 2 from the floor. It wasn’t that she played poorly. We just didn’t get her the ball.

“So she was feeling down a little bit. She bounced back a little against Ole Miss. She bounced back a little more against Auburn. (Against Vanderbilt) she stepped up in a big way so give that kid credit because she wasn’t playing well for three games in a row. She may be played as well as she has all year.”

Watkins that got the offense going against Vanderbilt, Daniels said, leading Arkansas to its second win against a ranked team, including a win against then-No. 13 Florida State in November.

“Sarah started off really well for us and it kind of just pushed us,” Daniels said.

Watkins tried to simplify her approach after her early-conference struggles.

“I try not to think as much,” Watkins said. “I just let it go. If it’s a miss, it’s over and in the past, just gotta keep shooting. You’re not going to make any shots if you don’t take them. Just the confidence coming off of everybody and our bench and our coaches that just drives everybody a little harder.”

Even when Watkins was struggling, Collen said he still encouraged her to shoot.

“I’ve always been a shooters coach and it’s really hard for me to tell Sarah Watkins not to shoot the three because I think she can make it,” Collen said. “Ultimately, I just believe those shots are going to go down so I’m not going to do anything to take their confidence away from them.”