Defense first
The Arkansas women’s basketball team may not overwhelm opponents by bringing in waves of players off the bench, and its shooting and scoring haven’t been special so far this season, but the No. 25 Razorbacks have played great defense going into tonight’s game against South Dakota State at Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas women’s basketball team can’t overwhelm opponents with waves of bench personnel like the Razorbacks men’s team. Their shooting and scoring haven’t been special this season either.
But the Razorbacks have played great defense, rebounded and scrapped for loose balls, and those are big reasons why they are 6-0 and ranked No. 25 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll heading into tonight’s game against South Dakota State at Walton Arena.
“We’re not a really pretty basketball team to watch,” said Jimmy Dykes, who is in his first season as the Razorbacks coach. “We can go stretches without scoring, but we don’t go stretches without fighting.”
Dykes and his staff put together a highlight reel from the Razorbacks’ victories over No. 16 Iowa and Richmond that gave Arkansas a victory in the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout in Las Vegas last weekend, and the clips revolved around winning loose balls, taking charges and winning battles for rebounds.
“I would say the big difference that I’ve noticed in this team is that whenever things start to go badly or maybe not how they’re planned … we don’t fall down and we don’t give up,” senior guard Calli Berna said. “That’s a big, big difference that I’ve seen this year. We have the ability to take a few hits and keep going and keep pushing forward.”
Sophomore guard Kelsey Brook noted that last season the Razorbacks lost a lot of games in the final minutes.
“That’s not us this year,” she said.
The Razorbacks not only broke into the AP rankings this week, they also were listed No. 1 in the season’s first NCAA release of RPI rankings, which factor in strength of schedule and performance.
The Razorbacks are No. 3 nationally in rebounding margin at plus-18.8 per game, No. 9 in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 50.2 points per game, and No. 11 in field goal defense (31.6 percent).
“We have to just keep doing what we do, and that’s trying to be fighters every minute and trying to be tough when we’re on the floor,” Dykes said. “Right now that’s showing up in our rebound advantage numbers and in our field-goal percentage defense.
“If we continue to be tough and fight, then I’ll be fine as a head coach if we win or lose. If we lose that, then we’re going to be in trouble.”
The Razorbacks have a tough two-game homestand against South Dakota State followed by No. 18 Rutgers on Sunday before heading back on the road next week.
South Dakota State (4-2) was an overwhelming choice to win the Summit League in preseason voting. The Jackrabbits also were victorious in Las Vegas last weekend, defeating Northern Illinois (55-42) and UNLV (65-59) to win the UNLV Lady Rebel Round-Up on Sunday.
The starting five for the Jackrabbits are all 6-0 or taller, led by 6-0 senior swingman Megan Waytashek, who averages 14.3 points per game, and 6-1 senior forward Mariah Clarin, who averages 13 points and 7.8 rebounds.
“South Dakota State is traditionally really, really good and they’re very wellcoached,” Dykes said. “They have tremendous size in their starting lineup. … They have a pretty good offensive system that’s really difficult to defend.”