UA women lean on veterans

Arkansas' Jessica Jackson makes a shot over the defense of Missouri Southern's Jenson Maydew on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.
Arkansas' Jessica Jackson makes a shot over the defense of Missouri Southern's Jenson Maydew on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015, at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas had lots of new faces on the floor Sunday afternoon, but it was a couple of the holdovers that were keys to the Razorbacks' exhibition victory at Walton Arena.

Juniors Jessica Jackson and Kelsey Brooks combined for 35 points to lead Arkansas to a 73-52 victory over Division II Missouri Southern.

Women’s College Basketball

Arkansas 73, Missouri Southern State 52

Missouri Southern^14^11^15^12^—^52

Arkansas^22^16^19^16^—73

Missouri Southern: Jones 11, Holcomb 10, Henry 9, Clark 6, Kivinski 6, Wilson-Brown 4, Buerge 3, Maydew 3.

Arkansas: Jackson 20, Brooks 15, Cosper 9, Cooley 9, Danberry 6, Wolff 4, West 4, Zimmerman 2, Monk 2, Swenson 2.

Jackson, a second-team All-SEC selection a year ago, finished with a game-high 20 points and had 8 rebounds and 4 blocked shots against the smaller Lions in 35 minutes. Brooks had 15 points, including 13 in the second half, in 37 minutes.

Arkansas jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never trailed, but Missouri Southern pulled within 24-20 with 7:43 left in the second quarter. The Razorbacks closed the half with a 14-5 run, holding the Lions to just one field goal during the quarter for a 38-25 halftime lead.

Jackson had two baskets inside to key a 9-2 Razorbacks run early in the second half to put Arkansas in control 52-32 with 4:28 left in the third quarter.

Arkansas Coach Jimmy Dykes admitted Jackson and Brooks, two of the Razorbacks' returning starters, played more minutes than he'd like. But it was necessary for success.

"It was a 'I want to win the ballgame issue,' " Dykes said. "Those are right now two of our returning starters and I thought there's value in winning. Some other coaches might approach exhibitions differently and want to play everybody. I want to experiment and win.

"I felt comfortable with them on the floor. Jess had four fouls there at the end. I could have taken her out, but I wanted her to push through it. She was really good today though. We don't want to play that heavy a minutes and we can't."

Seven of Arkansas' eight newcomers played and Dykes specifically praised the work of junior college transfers Devin Cosper and Alecia Cooley, who scored nine points each. Cosper also dished out four assists in 19 minutes, while the 6-foot-4 Cooley grabbed seven rebounds and made 4 of 6 from the floor.

Tatiyana Smith, a 6-3 transfer, won't be eligible until second semester, Dykes said.

But Dykes said some of the freshmen struggled in their first collegiate game.

"I thought they all tried," Dykes said. "They got lost to be honest, at times. That's gonna happen at times. I thought Devin Cosper was really good. She did a good job taking good shots and we even played at the point some."

Missouri Southern Coach Ronda Hubbard saw some similarities between the two teams because of their youth.

"I think they are a lot like at us at their level," Hubbard said. "You see a lot of younger players in their first exhibition with a lot to learn just like we have a lot of younger players with a lot to learn. I think they are more athletic than a year ago and maybe have an easier time scoring than a year ago. They have a great player in Jackson. If they get the right components around her they will have a very good team."

Another part of the game that must improve is rebounding, Dykes said.

"The concerning thing is we're not a very good rebounding team at all right now," Dykes said. "I'm not even going to try to cover it up. We're not. We only had a plus-five advantage on the boards and we gave them 13 offensive rebounds. That's a recipe for geting your tails beat with what we're getting ready to face.

"We're not an overly big team. We're not a real physical team. So we have to box off. All five gang rebound. We're just not there yet."

Arkansas opens the season on Friday morning at 10:30 against Southeastern Louisiana.

Sports on 11/09/2015

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