Razorbacks Roll Past Butler
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas women’s basketball team opened the game on a 10-0 run and never trailed, cruising to a 68-50 win over Butler on Wednesday night in Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks improve to 9-0, their best start under head coach Jimmy Dykes.
Jessica Jackson led all scorers with 19 points, her ninth straight game in double figures to begin the season. She was joined in double figures by Keiryn Swenson with a career-best 15 points, followed by Devin Cosper with a season-best 13 points and Malica Monk with 11 points, her sixth game in double digits. Arkansas shot 49.0 percent from the floor and was 6-of-12 from 3-point range.
The Razorbacks used first-half runs of 10-0 and 9-0 to build a 34-21 halftime lead. Keiryn Swenson led the way hitting her first five shots for 12 first-half points. After Butler pulled within single digits, 44-36, midway through the third quarter, Arkansas answered with a 12-0 run to end the frame on the way to the 68-50 win.
Arkansas travels to Springfield, Missouri, to take on Missouri State on Sunday afternoon with a tip-off set for 2 p.m. in JQH Arena.
Key Run
Arkansas opened the game on a 10-0 run, holding Butler without a point for the first 4:57 of the game. During that stretch, Arkansas held the Bulldogs to 0-of-4 shooting and forced four turnovers, scoring five points off those miscues.
Key Play
Keiryn Swenson knocked down a timely 3-pointer to halt an 8-0 Butler run that saw the Bulldogs pull within 10, 31-21, in the final minute of the first half. It was her second 3-pointer of the half, as she went 5-of-5 from the floor and 2-of-2 from 3-point range for a game-high 12 points in the first 20 minutes. It also gave Arkansas a 34-21 halftime lead.
Key Stat – 34 to 23
Arkansas shot nearly 50 percent from the floor but also won the battle on the glass, outrebounding Butler by a 34-23 margin. The Razorbacks held a decisive advantage on both the offensive glass (11-7) and defensive glass (23-16). Arkansas has won the rebounding battle in eight of the first nine games this season, improving to 31-7 when outrebounding its opponents under head coach Jimmy Dykes.
Notable
• Arkansas improves to 25-10 in home games under head coach Jimmy Dykes. That mark includes a 6-0 record this season and a 15-4 record in nonconference home games.
• Arkansas improves to 3-1 all-time against Butler, winning both meetings in Fayetteville. Arkansas also avenged a 63-57 loss to Butler in Indianapolis last year.
• Arkansas has used the same starting five for each of the first nine games: Malica Monk, Jailyn Mason, Jessica Jackson, Bailey Zimmerman and Alecia Cooley.
• Jessica Jackson has scored in double figures in each of the first nine games this season, finishing with a game-high 19 points. She has also led or tied for the team lead in scoring in eight of nine games this season.
• Keiryn Swenson scored 12 first-half points as part of her 15-point scoring effort. It was her first career game with double figures in the first half, and she also became the fourth different Arkansas player to achieve the feat this season.
• Devin Cosper scored in double figures for the first time this season, and the 16th time in her career, finishing with 13 points.
• Jailyn Mason (five assists), Alecia Cooley (four assists) and Bailey Zimmerman (three assists) all tied or set career bests for assists.
• Arkansas forced 20 or more turnovers for the third time this season, forcing 21, while also doing so against Sam Houston State (27 turnovers) and South Dakota (21 turnovers).
• With a 49.0 percent shooting night against Butler, Arkansas has already shot 45 percent or better five times this season. Arkansas shot 45 percent or better twice all of last season (30 games) and six times all of 2014-15 (32 games).
• Arkansas is off to a 9-0 start for the first time under head coach Jimmy Dykes and the first time since the 2013-14 season, when the Razorbacks won its first 13 games, completing a 13-0 nonconference run in the regular season.
Quotable – From Jimmy Dykes
“We’re very pleased to be 9-0. Keiryn (Swenson) was a big spark for us in the first half with the way that she shot the ball. Any time we moved the ball side to side, we got a good shot and knocked it down.”
Quotable – From Keiryn Swenson
“During warm ups, I was missing everything and I was a little nervous coming into the game. But once I knocked down that first shot, I got all my confidence back and I was relaxed the rest of the game.”
Up Next
Arkansas travels to Missouri State on Sunday, before closing out nonconference play with three straight home games against Northwestern State (Dec. 18), Oral Roberts (Dec. 21) and Houston Baptist (Dec. 28).
Arkansas begins SEC play on the road against Ole Miss on New Year’s Day.
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.
