Copyright Arkansas Online
FAYETTEVILLE -- The formal start of Kelsi Musick's tenure as head coach of the University of Arkansas women's basketball team was a roller-coaster ride that ended on a high note. After falling behind 17-2 early, the Razorbacks stormed back to defeat preseason Conference USA favorite Louisiana Tech 93-81 on Tuesday night at Walton Arena. The final score was the largest lead for Arkansas, marking a 27-point swing from their early deficit. It was the largest comeback for the Razorbacks since coming from behind 16 to win 71-60 at UALR on Nov. 11, 2024. "Everything's new," Musick said. "A new staff, new team, new everything, and they could have easily rolled over, and they didn't. I'm extremely proud of their grit and their fight, but that just shows the culture and the things that we're doing -- the way that we're going to play for 40 minutes no matter what. I think that showed up today. "But it also showed them that they're capable of going on runs, getting stops and definitely making a comeback." Louisiana Tech (0-1) posed a challenging debut opponent for Musick, as the Lady Techsters returned a nucleus of players including preseason CUSA player of the year Paris Bradley. Defeating a quality mid-major program in Musick's first regular-season game in comeback fashion left her pleased. "I think in order for us to grow, we have to play tough teams," Musick said. "Because when you get to the SEC, there's not going to be an easy game. Everyone's really, really good. I think having a game like this out the gate and allowing us to know that we could come back from a deficit, that we could settle in...for us to be able to weather that storm, I'm extremely proud of my team." Sloppy play by Arkansas out of the gate was a large reason why it fell behind big. Louisiana Tech capitalized on six early turnovers by the Razorbacks, including 3 offensive fouls, and made 7 of its first 9 shots to take a 17-2 lead just 5:14 into the game. It forced Musick to take a timeout in an effort to get her team under control. "I was mad," Musick. "I did get all over them. I know that they're better than that. I know that they can finish layups. I know that they can settle down and they can execute. When I do get probably the most mad is when they don't listen and execute, because we've prepared them for those moments. If they will just do what they're told, they have a really good chance to be successful." Senior guard Taleyah Jones, who had 20 points and 12 rebounds, said Musick was animated in the timeout. Jones followed Musick to Arkansas after playing two seasons for her at Oral Roberts. "She gets fired up," Jones said. "I mean, she really wants to win. ... She'll get on us, but I think that really does help us." The timeout seemed to calm Musick's team, as Arkansas outscored the Lady Techsters 10-7 to pull within 22-10 at the end of the first quarter. Freshman guard Harmonie Ware was instrumental getting the scoring going with a corner three-pointer. "Harmonie's three, I think that really changed our direction on what we were going to do on the floor," Jones said. "I'm just so proud of us be able to fight back. In that timeout (Musick) really was like, 'Hone in. We've got to figure this out.' And I think that's what flipped our switch." For as poor of a start as the Razorbacks had in the first quarter, they couldn't have asked for a better on to start the second. Arkansas went on an 11-0 run over a 1:18 stretch to start the quarter to get within 22-21. The stretch began with a four-point play by center Ashlynn Clarson on a banked in shot, and it ended with a Jada Bates block that led to a wide-open three-pointer for Emily Robinson that caused Louisiana Tech to call a timeout. Robinson, who also followed Musick from Oral Roberts, finished with 11 points and four rebounds. The Lady Techsters' 8-1 run helped them stretch their lead to 34-26 with 4:15 left in the half. But the Razorbacks again got hot and went on a 13-2 run to take their first lead of the game at 40-38 when freshman Bonnie Deas made layup with 50 seconds left in the half. Deas scored a team-high 25 points and added 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. She was 8 of 20 (40%) from the field, 4 of 9 (44.4%) from three-point range and 5 of 6 (83.3%) on free throws. "If she's scoring, there ain't no stopping her," Jones said. After the Lady Techsters claimed a short-lived 54-53 lead inthe third quarter on a jumper by Lonoke native Kaleigh Thompson, Arkansas ended the third quarter on a 14-6 run to claim a 67-60 lead entering the fourth. The Lady Techsters opened the fourth quarter on a 10-3 run to tie the game 70-70 with 6:10 remaining after a layup by Jordan Marshall of Little Rock Central. A pair of Arkansans, Marshall (20 points) and Sherwood native Jianna Morris (19), who played at Sylvan Hills, led Louisiana Tech in scoring. Arkansas then went on a 16-4 run over the game's final 5:47 that was capped by a three-point play by Jones and 3-pointer by Deas. The Razorbacks closed each quarter of the game strong, which pleased Musick. "They've had to run a lot of sprints, and it's for these moments," Musick said. "Because we have to get better in the third and the fourth quarter. We can't get tired; we can't get winded." Arkansas finished 33 of 74 (44.6%) from the field, including 9 of 21 (42.9%) from three-point range, and shot 18 of 24 (75%) at the free-throw line. The Razorbacks won the rebounding battle 50-36, including 19 offensive rebounds. Arkansas (1-0) is next scheduled to face Arkansas-Pine Bluff for its Elementary Day game set for 10:30 a.m. Friday at Walton Arena. The Golden Lions (1-0) opened with a 69-64 road upset over Memphis on Monday.
