Arkansas women roll over Richmond
ARKANSAS 74, RICHMOND 55
It has been a perfectly fine start for Coach Jimmy Dykes and the Arkansas women’s basketball team.
Guard Kelsey Brooks scored 17 points to lead three Razorbacks players with at least 10 each as Arkansas improved to 6-0 with a 74-55 victory over Richmond on Saturday in the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout in Las Vegas.
Forward Jessica Jackson added 16 points and forward Melissa Wolff finished with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. It marked the third time this season Wolff has had at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in a game.
The Razorbacks are 6-0 for only the seventh time in the program’s history.
“Richmond is a really good club, and I’m proud of the way we played against them today,” Dykes said. “It was a great team effort, and I’m pleased with the way we rebounded and shot free throws today.”
The physical, back-andforth battle was sloppy at times in the first half as both teams struggled to find their offensive rhythm. Arkansas was just 11 of 38 (28.9 percent) from the floor in the first half, but Richmond wasn’t much better at 8 of 24 (33.3 percent).
The Razorbacks dominated the rebounding for a second consecutive game as it outrebounded Richmond 44-26, including 16-6 on the offensive end. Arkansas outrebounded No. 17 Iowa 51-24 on Friday in the Razorbacks’ 77-67 upset.
Arkansas was only 6 of 23 (26.1 percent) from the field at the 7:19 mark of the first half Saturday, but it began to zero in and grabbed a 20-18 lead on Brooks’ three-pointer from the corner with 6:49 left in the half.
The Razorbacks outscored Richmond 13-6 the rest of the way and took a 33-24 lead into halftime.
Arkansas came out even stronger in the second half, breaking open the game with a 26-3 run and extended its lead to as much as 26 points in the second half.
Arkansas made 12 of 18 shots (66.7 percent) in the second half, including 2 of 4 from behind the three-point line, and hit 15 of 18 (83.3 percent) from the free-throw line to pull away from the Spiders (3-2).
The Razorbacks host South Dakota State on Thursday in a 7 p.m. game at Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 63, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 54
Jacksonville State outscored the University of Central Arkansas 35-18 over the final 15 minutes as the Gamecocks (4-1) defeated the Sugar Bears (2-3) in a nonconference game Saturday at the Farris Center in Conway.
UCA scored nine consecutive points in just under three minutes to build their biggest lead against the Gamecocks, 3628, with 15:26 to play. Kendara Watts hit two jumpers during the run, while Kelsey McClure scored on a layup and Raquel Logan added a three-point play.
Jacksonville State answered with a 17-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 45-38 lead. UCA countered with seven in a row to draw even with 7:12 to play on a layup by McClure, but Jacksonville State seized control by outscoring UCA 12-4 over the next 6:30 to secure its fourth consecutive victory.
Free throws were a major factor down the stretch as JSU scored 12 of its final 14 points from the line, which included making nine in the final two minutes. The Sugar Bears were just 8 of 17 from the line in the half and finished 12 of 22 (54.5 percent) compared to 17 of 20 (85 percent) for the Gamecocks.
Watts scored 15 points to lead UCA, and McClure had 10 points and a teamhigh nine rebounds.
Morton had a game-high 21 points for Jacksonville State, going 9 of 10 from the line, and Miranda Cantrell had 11 points and 11 rebounds.