FAYETTEVILLE — A high-octane, dribble-drive offense is what first-year University of Arkansas women’s basketball Coach Kelsi Musick has touted since her arrival in March.
But during her debut Thursday night at Walton Arena, it was her team’s gritty defensive performance that stole the show for her Razorbacks.
Arkansas created 33 turnovers and defeated Division II Arkansas-Fort Smith 100-42 in an exhibition game. It was the Razorbacks’ final tune-up before opening the regular season against Louisiana Tech at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday on SEC Network-Plus.
“I loved our intensity,” Musick said. “My girls played extremely hard for 40 minutes, and that’s what I expected. The energy, the effort, the passion, the intensity, those were expectations that I had, and they definitely (were) fulfilled.”
The Razorbacks capitalized on the takeaways, converting turnovers into 36 points. Musick said a goal she has set is for Arkansas to have one point per turnover; her team exceeded that objective.
Musick was also pleased with the half-court defense, as her team was often in the correct help-side positions. Arkansas held UAFS to 15-of-58 (26%) shooting from the field and a 5-of-26 (19%) effort from three-point range.
“That’s something we have been hounding and really working on every single day in practice, probably to the point that they’re tired of working on it,” Musick said. “But I’m extremely proud of the fact that it was able to convert to the court, and especially in a live-game situation.”
Arkansas went on multiple big runs, including a 22-0 stretch in the first quarter. The Razorbacks led by as many as 59 points in the fourth quarter and all 11 available players saw action.
Kansas transfer guard Wyvette Mayberry was unavailable for Thursday night’s game as she recovers from an injury that is not expected to hold her out for long.
“She won’t be available (for the season opener) Tuesday, more than likely,” Musick said. “But at the same time, she’s recovering quickly, and so she’ll be back really soon. I know that.”
Musick’s starting five consisted of guards Bonnie Deas, Taleyah Jones, Emily Robinson and Maryn Archer, as well as forward Maria Anais Rodriguez. The group ran into some early jitters.
The Lions took a 5-1 lead with 7:33 left in the first quarter when Alma native Jordan Gramlich hit a three-pointer. It was the first of only six makes from the field for UAFS in the first half.
The Razorbacks surged ahead 10-5 over a 2-minute, 57-second span to force the first timeout of the game for UAFS. Back-to-back layups by Robinson during that stretch seemed to settle Arkansas into the game, as it took off from there.
It was part of Robinson’s 10-point performance on 5 of 8 (62.5%) shooting.
“She always brings some fire for this team,” said Jones, who transferred from Oral Roberts with Robinson. “She does the little things. She might score, she might not, but she does everything that we need for this team.”
Jones, who led the Golden Eagles last season with 18.1 points per game, was key in closing the first half strong. Jones scored eight points before halftime, including a three-point play with 14 seconds remaining after she hauled in a rebound and went coast to coast.
It was the onset of her game-high 21-point performance, which was headlined by a 10-of-11 (91%) performance from the free-throw line. But aside from Jones, the Razorbacks were 17 of 31 (55%) on free throws.
“We miss a lot of free throws,” Jones said. “I know (Musick) was upset about that, so it’s just something we need to focus on.”
Deas, who was 1 of 6 from the line, replied, “Guilty of that one.”
Deas tallied 10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals, hounding the Lions with full-court pressure. She hit her first three-pointer of the game 34 seconds into the second half to put Arkansas up 45-14.
“I make it really personal,” Deas said. “And I think defense is just an effort thing. I just like to give 100% effort when I’m on the court all the time.”
With the game well out of reach with a 72-23 lead for the Razorbacks heading into the fourth quarter, Musick was able to play much of her bench for the final period. Jenna Lawrence’s second three-pointer of the game came with 13 seconds remaining and put Arkansas at the 100-point mark.
Arkansas finished the game 33 of 74 (45%) from the field, 7 of 21 from three-point range (33%) and 27 of 42 (64%) on free throws. It won the rebounding battle 61-34 and had a plus-14 turnover margin.
Jones (21 points), Lawrence (12), Harmonie Ware (12), Rodriguez (11), Deas (10) and Robinson (10) led the team in scoring. Gramlich led UAFS with 10 points.
