WBB Preview: Music City Classic
NASHVILLE – Arkansas women’s basketball (5-1) will play in this week’s Music City Classic at Tojan Fieldhouse in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Hogs will face Drake (1-3) on Tuesday, Nov. 25 and Southern Illinois (2-2) on Wednesday, Nov. 26. Both games will tip off at 5:45 p.m. and will be streamed on BallerTV.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Arkansas and Drake will meet for the first time since 1999. The Hogs own a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Razorbacks and Salukis haven’t met since 1981. SIU won that meeting, 68-61, in Wichita, Kansas.
LAST TIME OUT
Arkansas improved to 5-1 under first-year head coach Kelsi Musick with a 96-57 win over Little Rock on Thursday, Nov. 20. Bonnie Deas grabbed 15 boards, the most by a freshman since at least the 2002-03 season. Taleyah Jones led the Razorbacks for the second straight game with 19 points. Wyvette Mayberry made her Bud Walton debut and scored seven points.
Arkansas improved to 2-0 in in-state matchups this season. Earlier this month, the Razorbacks defeated UAPB, 101-49. All-time, Arkansas is 31-12 against in-state opponents. Against DI in-state opponents, the Hogs are 28-4 and have only lost once since 2005, against UAPB in Fayetteville in 2023.
QUICK HITS
Arkansas enters its only regular-season tournament. The Hogs last won a regular-season tournament game on Dec. 12, 2023, against UIC at the West Palm Beach Classic.
FRESHMAN DUO
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. Harmonie Ware also started hot and averaged 13.7 points off the bench in week one, the second most on the team behind Deas. Both of Arkansas’ freshmen scored in double figures in each of their first three games.
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 888 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.
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.
For more information on Arkansas women’s basketball, follow @RazorbackWBB on social media.
