FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas women's basketball team gets to meet a new challenge at 1 p.m. today when it takes on New Mexico State in the Texas-El Paso Thanksgiving Classic.
The Razorbacks will be playing on back-to-back days for the first time, which makes other members of the support staff important, Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors said.
Today’s Ticket
Arkansas women vs. New Mexico State
WHEN 1 p.m.
WHERE Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas
RECORDS Arkansas 3-2; New Mexico State 2-3.
RADIO KABZ-FM 103.7 in Little Rock; KQSM-FM 92.1 in Fayetteville; KFPW-AM 1230 and KFPW-FM 94.5 in Fort Smith; KURM-AM 790 and KURM-FM 100.3 in Rogers.
ONLINE ArkansasRazorbacks.…
TELEVISION SEC Network Plus.
CHALK TALK Devin Cosper reached double figures in her fifth straight game, scoring 22 in Thursday’s loss. … Brooke Salas, a 5-11 junior, leads the Aggies in scoring, averaging more than 15 a game. … Salas had 23 points and eight rebounds in Thursday’s loss. … Gia Pack, a 5-10 sophomore, finished with a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) in New Mexico State’s loss to Texas Southern.
— Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB
"Recovery is an important ability," Neighbors said. "Natalie Trotter will become the most important on the road trip, our athletic trainer, making sure I'm not playing them too many minutes or practicing them too many minutes this week. And Todd Barber, our strength and conditioning coach, making sure I've got the right work load going on in their legs, too."
Both the Razorbacks (3-2) and Aggies will try to bounce back from losses in less than 24 hours. Arkansas saw a furious fourth-quarter rally fall short in a 64-61 loss to host UTEP.
New Mexico State (2-3) saw a 45-34 lead after three quarters turn into a 66-50 loss to Texas Southern in El Paso on Thursday. The Aggies were outscored 32-4 in the fourth quarter.
Arkansas finishes a stretch of four consecutive road games this weekend, which Neighbors acknowledges is different for a team from a Power 5 conference this early. But he's hopeful the Razorbacks will learn from them.
"You look around, we'll have played way more road games than home games at Thanksgiving than most Power 5s do," Neighbors said. "I think it's valuable as long as we keep learning from it whether we win or whether we lose."
Neighbors said the game at Oral Roberts earlier this week seemed like a home game with a bus-load of Razorbacks fans on hand.
"I heard the Hogs called three or four times, you just don't hear that on the road," Neighbors said.
Sports on 11/25/2017