ACC/SEC Challenge Preview: Arkansas at SMU

DALLAS – Arkansas women’s basketball (7-2) will take on SMU (3-5) in the third edition of the ACC/SEC Challenge on Thursday, Dec. 4 at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas.

Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised live on ACC Network with Eric Frede (play-by-play) and Christy Thomaskutty (analyst) on the call.

The Razorbacks are 2-0 in ACC/SEC Challenge games since the event started in 2023: 71-58 at No. 15 Florida State in 2023 and 75-64.

INSIDE THE SERIES

Arkansas and SMU will meet for the 30th time and the first time since SMU joined the ACC. Both teams were members of the Southwest Conference until Arkansas left in 1991. The teams played a home-and-home series in 2020 and 2021 and the Razorbacks won both meetings. Arkansas has won six of the last seven meetings with the Mustangs and 11 of the last 13. Record against: 24-5 In Fayetteville: 10-2 In Dallas: 12-3 Neutral: 2-0.

LAST TIME OUT

Arkansas lost its first home game of the season, against Harvard, 69-51. The Crimson made 12 three-pointers and led for 35:23. Taleyah Jones led all scorers with 19 points and led the Razorbacks for the sixth straight game. Jones was the only Razorback in double-figures. The Hogs committed a season-high 21 turnovers and grabbed a season-low 27 rebounds.

ON THE MUSTANGS

SMU is riding a two-game win streak after starting the season 1-5 under first-year head coach Adia Barnes. The Mustangs have four players averaging over nine points per game: Tyi Skinner (14.8), Zahra King (14.6), Sahnya Jah (9.0) and Kyla Deck (9.3). SMU’s defense has been causing havoc for other teams this season as the Mustangs rank second in the ACC/53rd in the NCAA in steals per game at 11.5. SMU also ranks fifth in the ACC / 39th in the NCAA in blocks per game (4.9) and fifth in the ACC in turnovers forced per game (19.38). SMU has recorded double-digit steals in all but two game this season. The Mustangs’ six games with double-digit steals are already the most in a single season since the 2023-24 year (9), and the team’s 84 steals in the first seven games was the most since the team had 89 during the 2012-13 season. The Mustangs are fourth in the ACC in total steals with 92. As SMU enters year two in the ACC, it will do so with an entirely new roster and coaching staff, signing 15 new players ahead of the 2025-26 season. Of the 15, eight players transferred in from a P4 institution. The Mustangs will also be one of the more experienced teams in the nation, having added eight seniors/graduate students to the roster this season.

MUSIC CITY CLASSIC

The Hogs picked up a pair of wins at last week’s Music City Classic in Nasvhille, Tennessee. Arkansas led wire-to-wire against Drake for a 79-71 win, and came back from down 12 points to defeat Southern Illinois, 73-63. Arkansas guard Taleyah Jones was named the event’s MVP after scoring 38 points over the two games (15 & 23). The Music City Classic was the Razorbacks’ only multi-team event this season.

MVP

Taleyah Jones is Arkansas’ leading scorer through nine games with 17.3 points per game, good enough for top 10 in the SEC and top 100 nationally. Jones has collected eight 10-plus point games and three 20-plus point games this season. She’s led the Hogs in scoring in each of the last six games and was named MVP at last week’s Music City Classic. Jones transferred to Arkansas after playing two seasons at Oral Roberts under Musick, where she received First and Second Team All-Summit League honors and was named the league’s newcomer of the year in 2024.

A FEW FIRSTS

Kelsi Musick is Arkansas women’s basketball’s first female head coach since Susie Gardner led the Razorbacks from 2003-2007. Hometown firsts: Danika Galea is the first Maltin player in Razorback history. Aisha Hassan is the first Egyptian player in Razorback history. Ashlynn Chlarson is the first Arizonan in Razorback history.

50 SEASONS

Arkansas women’s basketball will celebrate its 50th season in 2025-26. The program was founded in 1976 and has accumulated 890 wins since its first game against North Arkansas CC on Nov. 19, 1976. The Razorbacks’ first win came on Dec. 1, 1976 against John Brown, 92-87.

AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE

Freshman guard Bonnie Deas made quite the impression following the first week of the college basketball season. Deas averaged 18.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, the most by a freshman in the country through the first three games. Deas picked up recognition from the SEC, earning freshman of the week honors. Though her numbers have decreased through nine games, she is one of only two freshmen in the country to average at least 12 points and 9 rebounds, joining UT-Arlington’s Kira Reynolds. This summer, she led her country to a silver medal in the FIBA U-19 Women’s World Cup. Deas averaged 12.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3 assists in 6 games at the World Cup and earned All-Star Five team honors alongside USA’s Saniyah Hall, the No. 1 prospect in the 2026 class, and UCLA’s Sienna Betts. Deas was Australia’s leading scorer in the championship game with 13 points in an 88-76 loss to the United States.

THE NEWCOMERS

The Razorbacks added eight newcomers to the 2025-26 roster: 5 transfers and 3 freshmen. Maria Anais Rodriguez joined Arkansas from Oklahoma State, where she saw action in 10 games during her first season, including three Big 12 games against Colorado, UCF and Arizona. On the FIBA side, she helped Spain to a 6-1 mark and the Silver Medal at the FIBA U18 Women’s Eurobasket competition in 2024 and averaged 8.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists during the event.

Taleyah Jones followed Coach Musick to Arkansas after playing for her during her sophomore and junior seasons. Jones was the Summit League Newcomer of the Year in 2024 and a First Team All-Summit League selection in 2025. Last season, she led ORU’s offense that ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring average (83.2) with 18.1 points per game.

Wyvette Mayberry signed with Arkansas on April 3, 2025, the first signee of the Musick era. Mayberry started her career at Tulsa before transferring to Kansas after two seasons. At Tulsa, she was named to the AAC All-Freshman team and led the Golden Hurricane in scoring her sophomore season with 14.1 points per game. At Kansas, she started in 31 games her junior season and recorded four 20+ point games. She started in all 32 games during her senior year and averaged 9.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. She injured her knee during her fifth year and came to Arkansas to finish her career.

Ashlynn Chlarson is the only JUCO product on this year’s team and joined Arkansas from Eastern Arizona CC in Thatcher, Arizona. In her two seasons with the Monsters, she averaged 8.4 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game. Last season, she nearly averaged a double-double, with 10.9 points/game and 9.2 rebounds/game. She earned first team all-conference, second team all-region and NJCAA All-Tournament Team honors in 2025.

Emily Robinson also made the move from Oral Roberts after a successful start to her career. She was named the 2024 Summit League Freshman of the Year after averaging 10.3 points/game, 3.7 rebounds/game and 2.5 assists/game. She was the only freshman in the league to average double figures. She started in all 33 games her sophomore season and averaged 10.0 points/game and led ORU with 3.4 assists/game. She scored 17 points in the Summit League Tournament championship game against No. 24 South Dakota State.

Harmonie Ware, Aisha Hassan and Bonnie Deas were part of the 2025 signing class that Coach Musick managed to keep following her hiring in March.

THE FIBA FOUR

Four Razorbacks represent their countries at this summer’s FIBA events. Bonnie Deas (Australia) led her country to a silver medal in the FIBA U-19 Women’s World Cup. Deas averaged 12.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3 assists in 6 games at the World Cup and earned All-Star Five team honors alongside USA’s Saniyah Hall, the No. 1 prospect in the 2026 class, and UCLA’s Sienna Betts. Deas was Australia’s leading scorer in the championship game with 13 points in an 88-76 loss to the United States. Cristina Sanchez Cerqueira represented Spain in the U-20 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket and won gold. Maria Anais Rodriguez also represented Spain at the U-19 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket and earned a bronze medal. Danika Galea played for Malta in the FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup and won a silver medal in the qualifier in Prishtina, Kosovo.

NEW STAFF

Joining Musick for her first season in Fayetteville are new assistant coaches Brad Johnson and Alex Furr. Johnson made the short trip from nearby Farmington, Arkansas, where he was the head coach of the highly successful Farmington High School girls program, the home of Jenna Lawrence. Overall, Johnson finished his high school coaching career with 419 wins, four state titles, eight conference titles and seven state finals appearances. Furr joins the staff from SMU, where she served as an assistant coach and director of player development for two seasons. Furr played at Fresno State from 2010-2014 and ranks in the all-time top 10 in 3-pointers made and career free throw percentage. Other new staff include Director of On-Court Development Greg Gilman and Video Coordinator Carter Mumm. Assistants Lacey Goldwire and Nick Bradford and longtime Director of Operations Amber Shirey remain on staff.

UP NEXT

The Hogs will host Jackson State on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. in Bud Walton Arena.

For more information on Arkansas women’s basketball, follow @RazorbackWBB on social media.