Razorbacks Ready For Exhibition Contest
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas women’s basketball team hosts Oklahoma Baptist in its lone exhibition contest of the 2016-17 season on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Bud Walton Arena.
Head coach Jimmy Dykes enters his third year at the helm and returns nine players from a team that went 12-18 overall and 7-9 in SEC play last season. The Razorbacks welcome in five newcomers who will all challenge for playing time in their first season.
The exhibition against Oklahoma Baptist marks the first of 18 home contests on the 2016-17 schedule. The Razorbacks also open the regular season at home, hosting Sam Houston State on Friday, Nov. 11 at 10:30 a.m. in the annual Elementary Day game.
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The Opponent
Arkansas will face Oklahoma Baptist for the first time in program history on Thursday. Picked fourth in the Great American Conference in Division II, OBU returns five players who started games from a team that went 17-16 last season and placed third at the NCCAA National Championship.
Notable
• Arkansas returns more than 75 percent of its scoring and more than 70 percent of its rebounding from last season, including its top three scorers in Jessica Jackson, Devin Cosper and Jordan Danberry.
• Jessica Jackson became just the fourth player in school history to earn All-SEC First-Team honors.
• Arkansas is 32-11 all-time in exhibition games, winning each of its last 12 such games, including a 73-52 win over Missouri Southern last season.
Quotable – From Coach Jimmy Dykes
“We’re really excited to get our season going. On Thursday night, we play Oklahoma Baptist in our only exhibition game of the year. We have our annual Elementary Day game a week from Friday, our home opener, against Sam Houston State. We anticipate more than 4,000 students in attendance. We’re excited about all those things and we’re even more excited about getting back on the practice court tomorrow.”
Quotable II – From Coach Jimmy Dykes
“There’s a lot more carry-over this year than in my first two years. We had a scrimmage on Saturday, and the day before, we put in a couple of plays that we ran last year and we had it. We couldn’t even think about doing that last year with all new players. I think we’re ahead of where we were a year ago. I think we are ahead in our conditioning and defensively. We believe this defense will look like what we think it should like going forward every year from now on.”
Looking Ahead
Arkansas opens the 2016-17 regular season against Sam Houston State on Friday, Nov. 11 at 10:30 a.m. in the annual Elementary Day game. It’s the first of four straight home games to begin the season and the first of nine non-conference home games in 2016-17.
Are You Ready to #BeArkansas in 2016-17?
Jackson and the Razorbacks are on a mission in 2016-17. The goal is the NCAA Tournament and Jackson, along with a talented cast of returners have been working all summer to make a run this year.
Jimmy Dykes and the staff return nine players including Jackson, Malica Monk, Keiryn Swenson, Briunna Freeman, Devin Cosper, Bailey Zimmerman, Jordan Danberry, Tatiyana Smith and Alecia Cooley. They have added five talented freshmen including McDonald’s All-American Aaliyah Wilson, Jailyn Mason, Sydney Stout, Yasmeen Ratliff and Kiara Williams and are ready to #BeArkansas this season.
To order tickets for the 2016-17 season, click here or call the Razorback Ticket Center at 800-982-HOGS (4647) or 479-575-5151. Fans can email the Razorback Ticket Center at raztk@uark.edu.
For more information on Arkansas women’s basketball, follow @RazorbackWBB on Twitter.
