ARKANSAS 77, NO. 17 IOWA 67
The Arkansas women's basketball team took the fight to No. 17 Iowa on Friday in Las Vegas.
Sophomores Kelsey Brooks and Jessica Jackson combined for 46 points and the Razorbacks doubled up Iowa on the boards as Arkansas knocked off the Hawkeyes 77-67 in the South Pointe Thanksgiving Shootout.
Brooks made 8 of 14 shots and led all scorers with a career-high 24 points, and Jackson finished with 22 points. The Razorbacks (5-0) outrebounded Iowa 51-24 and had a big advantage at the free-throw line, where they made 20 of 33 while the Hawkeyes (5-1) managed just 2 of 6.
"I can't be any prouder of my players," Arkansas Coach Jimmy Dykes said. "They just fought. We're not a very pretty team, I know that, but we fight hard. I'm really, really proud of them."
Jackson also had 7 rebounds and made 4 of 6 three-pointers as the Razorbacks went 5 of 12 from behind the three-point line. Junior Melissa Wolff pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, senior Jhasmin Bowen had 14 points and 9 rebounds, and Brooks chipped in 8 rebounds as Arkansas outrebounded Iowa 19-4 on the offensive end.
Arkansas' defense held Iowa well below its average of 90.4 points a game. Ally Disterhoft led the Hawkeyes with 23 points, while Samantha Logic finished with 11 points and Melissa Dixon and Whitney Jennings had 10 each.
"We did not play our style of basketball," Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. "We let Arkansas control the tempo and the boards."
Iowa shot 48.1 percent (13 of 27) from the floor in the first half and led 27-25 going into the break, but the Razorbacks, who shot 36 percent (9 of 25) in the first half, warmed up to 53.1 percent (17 of 32) in the second half as they took control of the game.
Iowa led 31-29 until Jackson nailed back-to-back three-pointers to give Arkansas the lead for good at 35-31.
Iowa cut the lead to 38-36 on a three-pointer by Jennings at the 15:29 mark, but Bowen came right back on the next possession with a layup to give Arkansas a 40-36 lead. Jackson's third three-pointer of the second half gave Arkansas a 46-38 lead with 12:42 left.
Iowa cut the lead to five several times down the stretch, but Arkansas came up with a basket or a defensive stop each time. Brooks, in particular, came up big down the stretch with 12 points over the final nine minutes.
Arkansas sealed the victory by making 10 of 15 free throws over the final four minutes as it ran its streak of nonconference victories to 27 games.
"We really defended well without fouling," Dykes said. "We only fouled 15 times; Iowa fouled 26 times. I thought we were good at driving the ball. It's a great team win."
Arkansas plays Richmond at 3 p.m. Central today.
SUN BELT WOMEN
ARKANSAS STATE 79,
CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 39
Hanna Qedan scored 17 points, had 5 assists and grabbed 4 rebounds to lead the Arkansas State women to a victory at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro. The Red Wolves (2-2) jumped out to a 15-2 advantage in the first half and had a 44-22 halftime lead. Qedan and Khadija Brown-Haywood got the offense going by scoring 11 consecutive points over a three-minute span. They both finished the half with 12 points each and were a combined 9-for-9 from the field with a combined 3 three-pointers. Brown-Haywood finished with a career-high 21 points.
The lead grew to 51-22 after a three-pointer by Brown-Haywood with 17:56 left in the second half. Arkansas State took its largest lead of the night at 73-31 after a layup by Ogo Obinabo with 6:00 to go.
All 15 Red Wolves played in the game and all but three scored.
Sports on 11/29/2014