Arkansas hosts Vandy for SEC home opener

ABOUT THE LADY RAZORBACKS: The 30th edition of the Arkansas women’s basketball team takes the floor this season with head coach Susie Gardner. Initially, Arkansas returned at least four starters from last year’s team that went 17-14 overall, reaching the second round of the Women’s NIT. However, the injury bug hit once again, and the Lady’Backs find themselves without last year’s leading scorer and preseason all-SEC post Sarah Pfeifer.
ABOUT THE COMMODORES: Vanderbilt opens Southeastern Conference play Sunday after a strong run of non-conference action. Transfer center Liz Sherwood steps into the starting center role for Vandy, and along with senior Nicole Jules and junior Carla Thomas presents Arkansas with a distinct challenge on the inside. Perhaps the most accurate all-around team in the SEC — first in free throws, second in field goal and fourth in three-point — the Commodores are the most potent offensive threat Arkansas has faced to date.
THAT’S NO MONKEY: Arkansas got King Kong off its back in Starkville by winning the first SEC road opener in the 15-year membership of the Lady Razorbacks. The Lady’Backs were 0-8 starting SEC play on the road (the first overall game) and 0-14 in the first SEC road game. Arkansas now stands atop the league standings after game one for only the fourth time in those 15 seasons with the league.
DON’T GET HAPPY: Before getting all giddy about the 1-0 start, recall that Vanderbilt has a bad habit of shutting the door on Arkansas’ conference good times. In fact, Arkansas’ 2-0 start in 1997 and 3-0 start in 2003 both came to a halt at the hands of the Commodores.
BEST OFFENSE SO FAR: Vanderbilt is the top free throw shooting team in the SEC heading into this weekend, and ranks second in field goal percentage and fourth in three-point percentage. The Commodores are fifth in scoring margin and scoring offense.
BATTLE OF THE POINT GUARD VS. THE POINT GUARDS: Vanderbilt leads the SEC with 19.1 assists per game. Guess who is number two — Arkansas at 17.9 assists per game. The teams reverse positions in the assist-to-turnover ratio as the Lady’Backs are third in the conference at 1.12:1 while Vandy is 1.08:1 in fourth. Almost all of Vandy’s assist making emanates from the hands of Dee Davis. The 5-7 junior from Cincinnati averages 6.9 assists per game. Arkansas counters with a point committee led by The Sisters Vaughn — senior Rochelle with 3.6 per game and sophomore Brittney with 4.4 per game. Arkansas also gets significant assistance from Sheree Thompson with 2.4 per game. Missing of course is Kristin Peoples’ 4.9 per game, which also robs the game of an Ohio prep-star showdown between Columbus-area Peoples and downstate Cinci product Davis.
DEFENSE FIRST: Arkansas returns to the SEC lead in turnover margin at +8.8 (edging out LSU’s +8.2). Meanwhile, Vanderbilt is a mere +2.0 in eighth. The ‘Dores are only 10th in steals to Arkansas fifth. Arkansas also has the advantage on blocks — seventh at 3.5 to ninth with 2.9. The two are close on defensive shooting numbers — fifth for Vandy in both points allowed and defensive FG% and seventh in both for Arkansas.
INJURY UPDATE: As of Friday morning, Kristin Peoples was still not clear to play and Danielle Allen was day-to-day with her foot injury. Peoples is schedule to see a physician Friday, and may be clear next week. Allen is improving and could dress for Sunday’s game with Vanderbilt, but that is a game-day decision.
THOMAS WAS DAY-TO-DAY: Heading into Vandy’s last contest (Tuesday with Western Kentucky), Carla Thomas was listed as day-to-day after a concussion suffered in late December. Thomas played against Western, but was not a starter.
WELL, THAT WOULD BE 28 GAMES: In fact, with Danielle Allen joining Kristin Peoples and Sarah Pfeifer in street sweats Arkansas has “lost” 28 player games on the 14 player active roster. Add in Pfeifer to get to the original 14 player roster (and 14 missed games) and Arkansas is up to 42 games.
HOWDY PARTNER: This season starts a new two-year cycle for the SEC women’s basketball schedule. Miss State returns as Arkansas’ Western rotating partner in 2005-06. MSU was the West partner in 1997-98 and 1998-99. Arkansas’ new East partner is Vanderbilt which completes the cycle on the Eastern side of the league.
NEAR RECORDS AT STATE: Arkansas missed its school record for fewest points allowed in a SEC game by a single bucket. Miss State’s Miayorka Johnson saved the day with her three-pointer with 2:03 left to play to give State 45 points. For some time is appeared the Lady Bulldogs would break the mark of 43 points set by Kentucky in 1993 at Barnhill Arena. It does tie the second-lowest game — ironically 45 by Miss State in Fayetteville in 2001.
NEW STANDARD FOR FUTILITY: Arkansas held Miss State scoreless for 8:08 in the first half, a new record for the Lady’Back defense this season. The Lady Bulldogs scored three field goals — and seven points — in the last 15:12 of the first half.
MOORE GETS SEASON HIGH: The 15 points by Kristin Moore, including the first five of the ball game for Arkansas, is a new season high for Moore. It was her first SEC game in over 12 months as she last appeared against a conference opponent (at Georgia) in December 2004.
AND ONE “MOORE” CHANCE: Kristin Moore picked up her career sixth double-double game at Miss State with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Miss State is the only SEC team Moore has made the double against — at State in 2004 and at the SEC Tournament in 2004. She gets one more chance at the end of this month when the Lady Bulldogs travel to Fayetteville on Jan. 22.
SENIOR NIGHT IN THE OPENER: Five of Arkansas six senior players played a major role in the historic win at Starkville. Along with Kristin Moore’s season-high 15 points, Rochelle Vaughn (9) and Adrienne Bush (6) had season highs for rebounds. Melissa Hobbs scored her career high for a SEC game with nine — all in the second half. Sheree Thompson had nine points, five assists and three steals, plus a dramatic shot-clock beating 26-foot bank shot down the stretch in the second half.
THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 26: As in opponent turnovers — Arkansas is 6-0 with 26 or more; 3-5 this year with 25 or less.
GOTTA HAPPEN TO WIN: Every time Arkansas has won this year they have led the game at halftime — 9-2 leading at recess. Two other big indicators: outshot the opponent (9-3) and committed fewer turnovers (9-3).
SERIES: Vanderbilt leads 12-4, and rides a five-game winning streak — the longest in the series — to Fayetteville. A series that has been reasonably tight for Arkansas in the results got way out of hand last year at Vanderbilt. The Commodores crushed Arkansas by 35 points for the worst beating in the series. The Lady’Backs gained a measure of payback in Greenville, SC, by taking Vandy into the final minutes of the game before falling.
LAST MEETING WITH VANDY: Riding high from the upset of the tournament’s sixth seed, Arkansas got a SEC game-best 20 points from Rochelle Vaughn as the Lady’Backs pushed the Commodores. It was a dramatic change from the 35-point beating just weeks earlier as Arkansas had a 32-30 halftime deficit and had momentum rolling in the second half. Twice the game was stopped as the Bi-Lo Center scoreboard malfunctioned to disrupt Arkansas. A six-point game heading into the last minutes, it took a 10-0 closing run by VU against an exhausted Arkansas to turn the game into an “easy” win.
LAST TIME AT FAYETTEVILLE: Ruby Vaden had a game and career high 29 points, but Arkansas suffered another heartbreaking SEC loss. Tied 32-32 at half, Arkansas went on a 10-2 run to take command only to have VU rally with seven unanswered. Turnovers haunted Arkansas late with several bad passes and a critical shot clock violation in the final minute. Shameka Christon had 13 and a career-high 18 for Kristin Peoples.
FIRST TOP 25 GAME: Arkansas gets its first ranked opponent — the first of several as SEC action gets underway. The Lady’Backs are 32-53 against teams ranked between #11 and #25 all-time.
THE NEW POTO: Back in the day, Arkansas was all about Poteau — as in the Oklahoma hometown of its first Kodak All-American and two-time SWC player of the year Delmonica DeHorney. In this historic 30th season, it’s all about POTO — points off turnovers. Arkansas is averaging 29 ppg off opponent turnovers — that’s 38% of the offense from the defense.
NOTABLE FROM RECENT GAMESSOMETHING FOUL ABOUT THOSE TWO LOSSES: There is a single constant in Arkansas’ last two defeats — fouls. In its most recent defeat, Arkansas never shot the bonus as Florida International had six first half fouls, three in the second for a total of nine fouls. For the game, Arkansas hit 6-of-7 for one of the best percentages of the year, 85.7%. Meanwhile, FIU went to the line 22 times, making 14, off of 20 Lady’Back fouls that including fouling out Arkansas’ leading scorer, Kristin Moore. At Western Kentucky, the Lady’Backs committed a near school record 31 fouls with another almost school record three players fouling out at Bowling Green. Western made (29) more free throws than Arkansas shot (18).
OFFENSE M.I.A. IN MIAMI: Arkansas scored 51 points in the first 30 minutes at Florida International and led by 17 points. In the final 10 minutes — 9:40 to be exact — Arkansas had one field goal and a total of three points while FIU went on a 24-3 run to turn the 17-point deficit into a four-point victory. Arkansas missed 10 straight field goals, 12 of its final 13 attempts, and aggravated the situation with five turnovers over the same time frame.
ANDJELKOVIC HIGH: Kristina Andjelkovic made the most of her “homecoming” trip to Florida at the FIU Fun and Sun. Andjelkovic came off the bench for a season high tying eight points against Florida International. The senior played her second season of junior college basketball at north Florida Chipola JC.
RECORD DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCE: The 33 points allowed to Coppin State is the least yielded in a neutral court game in the 30-year history of the program. It surpassed 41 Hampton in the 2002 Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands and — ironically — 41 by New Hampshire in the third-place game of the 1995.
FOURTH LOWEST ALL-TIME: The 33-point game with Coppin is the least since a 31-point game against Alabama State in 1991. The all-time marks are 19 at Bartlesville Weslyan in the third game in school history (and the all-time low for a road game) then 29 points — again Bartlesville Weslyan — at Barnhill Arena in the return game. Those games come from the first year of Lady’Back basketball. Arkansas gave up 29 points the second year of the program in a home game win over Cottey College.
HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?: The defensive effort is only surpassed by the offensive limbo of escaping with victory in a game with less than 50 points scored. The last time Arkansas won with under 50 was the epic 45-43 upset of then #24 Kentucky on Jan 23, 1993, the only win in Lady’Back history without a single double digit scorer and one of only three games all-time with zero over 10. Arkansas also beat UMKC in 1988-89, 46-42; and downed Prairie View A&M 48-45 in 1978-79.
MO LOW — SCHOOL RECORD FOR LEAST POINTS, TWO-TEAMS: The Coppin State game goes into the books as the lowest scoring game in Lady Razorback history with 82 points. Arkansas and Bartlesville Weslyan combined for 86 points in 1977, while the Lady’Backs and then Ladykats of Kentucky scored only 88 points in 1993. The 88 total also was hit in the UMKC game of 1988-89 and Arkansas-Rice (53-35) in 1979.
DON’T GO CHANGING: Rochelle Vaughn got blood on her jersey early in the game against Coppin State and was forced to change to number 23. In her new number, Rochelle Vaughn hit only 2-of-10 from the field, had zero assists and scored a mere five points.
DEFENSE SETS NEW STANDARD: Arkansas held UNO without scoring for 6:05 midway through the first half. It came on the heels of a 4:12 stretch and 4:00 to start the game — totaling up to only two field goals in 14:17.
POTO OPENS THE GAME: The Lady’Backs scored its first 17 points against UNO off turnovers to build a 17-4 lead. Arkansas forced 13 turnovers in the opening 10 minutes to take the lead. For the game, Arkansas had 32 — 11 from UNO’s point guard alone — and a turnover advantage of 15.
B. VAUGHN ALMOST GETS RECORD: Brittney Vaughn crushed her career high of eight assists (set earlier this year against Nicholls State) with 12 versus UNO. She came within two assists of breaking the sophomore class record of 14 set by India Lewis against Howard.
BUSH ON A ROLL: Adrienne Bush came off the bench for a career high 18 points against UNO, her second double-double game of the year. The senior hit 6-of-7 from the field and 6-of-8 from the line in just 15 minutes played.
HOWARD DOUBLE AGAIN: Three games into her Arkansas career, Leslie Howard picked up her third double-digit game with UNO scoring 15 points in only 16 minutes.
MOORE MORE THAN STATS SHOW: Kristin Moore started the season sluggish, hitting in the 30s. In her first two games since returning to the starting lineup, Moore is averaging 11.5 ppg, 11 rpg and .733 from the field in only 24 minutes per game. That’s significantly higher than her season 4.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg and .474 and her 2.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg and .301 as a sub in the first six games.
ANOTHER DEFENSIVE VICTORY: Arkansas forced a near -2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio from UTPA, picking up 11 steals in 27 turnovers and converting it into 34 points off turnovers. Equally impressive, on Arkansas’ 15 turnovers UTPA scored only two buckets — an opponent season low four points of UA turnovers.
A/T THE WAY WE D: Arkansas’ crushed Nicholls on the perimeter, forcing 27 turnovers and allowing the Lady Colonel offense to muster only seven assists in 17 made shots. That’s almost a -4:1 assist to turnover ratio for NSU.
ALLEN RETURNS: Danielle Allen is the first to say it was no big deal when she took the court against UTPA. It was to her teammates, coaches and the crowd as she received a polite round of applause when she checked into the game at the 12 minute mark. Her stats were modest for her first game back after taking the fall semester off to give birth to her son Caden, but it didn’t take long for Allen to pick up where she left off in one area. The team leader in charges taken, Allen picked up her first of the season within a minute of entering the game and earned a standing ovation from the bench.
MORE, MORE, MOORE: Nicholls State didn’t like it as Kristin Moore broke out with her first start of her senior season with a career high 14 rebounds and 14 points for her first double-double since the 2004 SEC Tournament. Moore had a near double by intermission, heading to the locker room with 10 points and eight rebounds. Equally impressive was her shooting percentage. Moore came into the game averaging only 30.4% from the field making seven field goals in six games played. Against NSU, Moore hit 7-of-10 from the field in her 30 minutes played, and picked off four steals.
HALF OF TWO PLUS FOUR? IT’S THREE: Number 24 made her debut at Hot Springs as Leslie Howard scored 14 points in her first official game as a Lady’Back. Draining her first three-point attempt of her career, Howard converted on half of her long-distance shots and scored over half (4) of Arkansas’ treys versus Nicholls State.
MERRY SESQUICENTENNIAL, COACH GARDNER: Susie Gardner earned her 150th career victory against Nicholls State at Hot Springs.
B-VAUGHN GETS ASSIST MARK: Brittney Vaughn turned in her best game operating the offense with a then career high eight assists against two turnovers in 27 minutes versus Nicholls State. With Kristin Peoples unavailable, the sophomore had the most minutes of any of the ball-handlers against NSU. Brittney also picked up five steals, also a career best.
HOPEFULLY NOT A PREVIEW: Western Kentucky’s size led to a 50-16 advantage in points in the paint and a 47-24 advantage on the backboards.
FOUR DOUBLES, BUT NO WIN: Arkansas got the offensive balance it needed at Western Kentucky with four in double figures, but the 73-point output — just shy of the season average at the time — was not enough to overcome the Lady Toppers’ inside power.
THAT’S FOUL: Arkansas had a near-miss at two of its school records at Western Kentucky. The Lady’Backs were called for 31 fouls, just three from the school record of 34 from the 1993 meeting at South Carolina. Three Lady’Backs fouled out of the game, one away from the school record of four. It seemed like Arkansas would tie or break the DQ record — one that dates to the AIAW era — as three Lady’Backs finished the game with four fouls.
JONES GETS FIRST DOUBLE: Arkansas picked up another double for the team and a first for freshman Whitney Jones against UMKC. The Blytheville native pulled down 10 rebounds for a new career high to go with her near-career 21 points.
WHO YA GONNA CALL? ZONEBUSTERS: UMKC wasn’t exclusively 2-3 as they were at Kansas City last year, but whenever the Kangaroos went zone Arkansas punished them from the perimeter. Kristin Peoples led the way with a new team high of four made (on six attempts). Arkansas hit a season best 9-of-17 from behind the arc.
ONE SHY OF ALL SCORING: Arkansas had another balanced scoring day with UMKC as nine of the 10 players in the game scored and four players were in double digits, two starters and two from the bench.
YOU DON’T SEE THAT VERY OFTEN: Arkansas’ shooting got worse the closer it got to the bucket against UMKC. The Lady’Backs’ shot 52.9% from three-point range, 52.2% from the field and 50% from the line.
WE ARE ALL MADE OF STARS: In five of the first six games this season, Arkansas has seen at least one player pick up a major career game: Kristin Peoples’ 21 points and Whitney Jones’ 22 at SMU, Dominique Washington pulling down 25 with Memphis, 10 rebounds for Sheree Thompson at Portland, Ayana Brereton getting 18 against Grambling, Melissa Hobbs doubling Tulsa for 19 and 11 then Jones picking up the double of 21 and 10 against UMKC.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE STARS HAVEN’T ALIGNED: With the exception of Memphis, Arkansas hasn’t had all those star performances come together in a single contest this season.
HOBBS SCORES FIRST DOUBLE: Senior Melissa Hobbs got career highs for points and rebounds against Tulsa, and the first double-double of the year for Arkansas. Hobbs hit 19 points — more than double her junior season best of eight points — and pulled down 11 rebounds — another double of her previous high of five.
REBOUNDS TRUMP TURNOVERS: Arkansas had +9 in turnover margin and forced Tulsa into a negative assist-to-turnover ratio. The Lady’Backs also posted a 1.5:1 A:T. All for naught as the Golden Hurricane whipped up a storm of rebounds, 61-37, with almost as many offensive boards — 32 — as Arkansas had as a team — 37.
BENCH POWER: The starter shuffle against Grambling produced the most bench points of the season as the substitutes outscored the starters, 62-24. Not all of that can be attributed to former starter Kristin People’s career high 23 as the Lady’Backs got year-to-date highs from Kristin Moore (8) and Ayana Brereton (18).
COULD BE A FIRST: Arkansas had none of its starters in double digits, but three in double-digits from the bench. Three times in the 30-year history of the program Arkansas has not had anyone in double digits, but it will take some checking to verify if this was the first (or to find the last time) the double digit scorers were all off the bench.
PEOPLES “TIES” SCHOOL RECORD: The minimum for consideration for free throw percentage in a game is 10 attempts, and Kristin Peoples hit 11-of-11 with Grambling. That technically ties her for the school record at 1.000, but the most in a game gets the official mark — Christy Smith had 16-of-16 against Ohio State on Nov. 19, 1995.
MODELS OF EFFICIENCY: Aside from sharing the same initials, Adrienne Bush and Ayana Brereton were two of the most efficient players against Grambling. Bush started the game with 3-of-5 from the field for seven points in only 12 minutes. Brereton came on the court to hit 6-of-9 from the field, 6-of-7 at the line to score 18 in 23 minutes played.
LUCKY 7 FOR PEOPLES: For the fourth time in the first five games, Kristin Peoples had seven or more assists. Against Grambling, Peoples’ 7 assists were against only 3 turnovers. Seven was her pre-season career best, a mark she’s gotten twice this year but broke with eight against Memphis.
DIFFERENT FRESHMAN, SAME RESULT: For the first time, Whitney Jones wasn’t the star as the 6-0 post had a sluggish offensive start with Grambling but a strong defensive game as Arkansas’ leading rebounder (8) and shot-blocker (4). This game, it was Arkansas “other” freshman with the breakout game, Ayana Brereton.
A CAREER IN A HALF: Stop us if this sounds familiar to Danielle Allen’s season opener last year, but Ayana Brereton had her most minutes played in a single game and most points scored in a game by halftime. Brereton led Arkansas’ scorers with 10 points off 4-of-5 on her way to 18 for the game.
BALANCE CONTINUES: Arkansas had 10 players available for Grambling, and everyone saw at least 12 minutes of playing time. For the third time this year the entire team scored.
THE GOOD NEWS — FAST STARTS: Arkansas was rolling at McArthur Court, hitting three of its first four three-pointers to build an 11-2 lead to begin the game against Oregon. The Lady’Backs followed with the best half shooting the ball in just over four years at Portland State. Against Tulsa, the Lady’Backs held an 11-point lead late in the game.
THE BAD NEWS — SLOW FINISHES: The Lady’Back offense stalled with only three field goals in the final minutes of the first half to allow the Ducks to catch and pass Arkansas by intermission, 33-30. Same story, second verse at Portland State as the Lady’Backs hit only 21.6% for the second half and went on a two-minute per field goal pace down the stretch. Tulsa added to the woes with a 13-0 run at the end to down Arkansas.
DEFENSE FLEXES ON VIKINGS: The defensive end gave the offensive end every chance in the world at Portland State, holding the Vikings to only five free throws in the last five minutes of the game. In fact, PSU made a single point in the last three minutes of the game.
THOMPSON NEAR DOUBLE: Sheree Thompson was credited with 10 rebounds at Portland State to lead the team and give her a second career high for caroms in the first four games of this season. Combined with eight points, the senior guard had her best shot at a career double of her career at Arkansas.
SPUTTERS: Arkansas’ offense has developed a problem, first allowing Oregon off the mat after building a 10-point lead early, 22-12, with a 3:05 scoreless stretch leading to a 10-0 Duck run to tie at 22-22. Same with Tulsa as the Lady’Backs’ stalled for the final three minutes of the game and let the Golden Hurricane score the final 13 points of the game.
COMEBACK: A 20-6 run by the Lady’Backs down the stretch rallied 14 points off the 17-point deficit to Oregon, including an 11-2 climax on the run.
BRINGING BALANCE TO THE FORCE: In the first two games this year, the starting five has produced four scoring, two assist and one rebounding high. Four of the five have scored 20 points each. In the opener, Whitney Jones (22) and Kristin Peoples (21) took the lead at SMU. Memphis learned from that game, fronted Jones and isolated Peoples. The result? A career high for Dominique Washington (25) and a career tie for Rochelle Vaughn (22) with Sheree Thompson scoring a season high (16).
A DEFENSE SO GOOD IT LOOKS LIKE OFFENSE: Arkansas shredded regional rival Memphis with series record numbers, racking up the most points in the 15-game series (99) and largest margin (46). The offensive outburst was set up by another outstanding defensive performance in the halfcourt. The Lady’Backs were hitting high percentage shots courtesy of 32 Lady Tiger turnovers.
99 PUNKTE: Somehow, it sounds even better in German (points=punkte) as Arkansas scored the most points to date of the Susie Gardner era against Memphis. The 99 points bettered 86 in a then-runaway versus Centenary in 2004 and was one shy of the first century game since December 2001 for Arkansas.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH: Arkansas left the building after Memphis with numerous career marks. Kristin Peoples got her career high for assists with eight. Rochelle Vaughn tied her scoring with 22. Sheree Thompson broke her rebound high with eight to lead the team. Ayana Brereton got scoring (8) and rebounding (5) bests as did Dominique Washington (25p, 7 r). Whitney Jones picked up her rebound and steal highs with five each.
VERY HIGH STEAL PERCENTAGE: Getting the 32 turnovers from Memphis wasn’t the news for the Lady’Back defense — it was 21 steals in the 32. Every Lady’Back except Kristina Andjelkovic had a steal; all but Rochelle Vaughn had more than one.
JONES MAKES MORE HISTORY: Whitney Jones’ record effort earned her the first-ever Southeastern Conference women’s basketball freshman of the week honor on Monday. The league added a freshman honor to its weekly player honors for the 2005-06 season.
FRESHMAN STARTS: Whitney Jones’ 22 points is the most for a freshman starting in the opening game since 15 points by Karyn Karlin back on Nov. 23, 1995, against Texas-Arlington. Karlin went on to a pretty good year — SEC Freshman of the Year in 1996. Jones becomes the only freshman to start her season opener and score 20 or more. In fact, many future Lady’Back superstars didn’t have very auspicious opening games — Christy Smith and Shameka Christon each started their career openers but had 0 points. Her 22 also tops the most by any freshman in the SEC era as Wendi Willits came off the bench to score 21 at Providence in 1997. Jones’ 22 is the best of the SEC and SWC eras — box scores are spotty prior to the fourth season (1980-81).
SIGNING DAY NEWS: The Lady’Backs picked up four high school signees on the opening day of the early National Letter of Intent period. In-state, Arkansas signed Kendra Roberts, a 5-8 guard from Fort Smith, Ark., Northside High School. Susie Gardner picked up players from three neighboring states: Charity Ford, a 5-8 combo guard from Arlington, Texas, Juan Seguin; TaNisha Smith, a 6-2 forward from Kansas City, Mo., Lincoln Prep; and 6-3 forward Ashley Wilson of Byhalia, Miss.
KENDRA ROBERTS: The 5-8 guard averaged 16 ppg, 6 rpg, 9 apg and 2 spg as a junior for Fort Smith Southside High. Roberts was an all-conference and all-region pick for the Lady Rebels. Playing her summer AAU basketball with the Arkansas Kamikazi team, The former Southside High guard will participate for Northside this season for Lady Bears head coach Rickey Smith. As a freshman, she averaged 18 ppg and 10 rpg and was the district MVP at Trinity Junior High. Her sophomore season at Southside, she averaged 12 ppg, 6 rpg, 4 spg and 2 apg and was named to the state’s top 10 sophomore list by Southern Starzz.
TANISHA SMITH: The 6-2 guard-forward averaged 16 ppg, 10 rpg, 2 apg and 3 spg for Coach Jeff Atkins at Lincoln Prep Academy as a junior. Lincoln finished the season in the Missouri state title game with a 26-4 record. She averaged 14 ppg and 8 rpg as a sophomore for the Tigers. Her career highs are 39 points and 17 rebounds. A three-time first-team all-district pick, Smith was also a first-team Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Class AAAA all-state selection in 2005. She led her AAU team, Kansas City Keys, to a 62-3 mark this past summer for coach Harrell Johnson. The Keys reached the AAU Final Four in Orlando this year. Smith averaging 18 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.5 apg and 2.0 spg in AAU play, including a 31-point game against Cincinnati Nets, to earn AAU All-America honors.
CHARITY FORD: Ranked the No. 13 prospect in the state of Texas by TexasHoops, Ford averaged for Arlington’s Juan Seguin High. The co-MVP of District 7-AAAA, Ford averaged 18 ppg, 4.5 apg and 2.3 spg for the Lady Cougars last season she racked up 596 points as half of one of the strongest backcourts in the state of Texas.
ASHLEY WILSON: One of the top prospects from the state of Mississippi, Wilson did not participate in high school basketball last season while she was living in Ohio. The 6-3 swing post player currently attends Byhalia High School in Byhalia, Miss. The Indians’ leading scorer as a sophomore, Wilson is currently starting at point.
PFEIFER OUT FOR THE SEASON: One day after being voted by the league’s coaches and media to the preseason all-SEC second team, returning leading scorer Sarah Pfeifer tore her ACL in her left knee during the opening minutes of the Red-White Game. Pfeifer had surgery on the knee in early November 2005 to begin the rehab process. The 2005 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Pfeifer has already used a redshirt season in 2003 after a traumatic shoulder injury at the Loyola Marymount tournament. Regrettably, this marks the fourth major surgery (2003, left shoulder arthroscopic; 2004, left shoulder full cut; 2005, right shoulder full cut) in her Arkansas career.
LUNCH WITH SUSIE: Arkansas head coach Susie Gardner’s next luncheon is Monday, Dec. 12. The luncheons begin at 11:30 at the Clarion Hotel. Cost is $8.50 for the buffet. For more questions, contact Lady’Back marketing at 575-7312.
LIVE LADY’BACKS: Arkansas will provide all games from Bud Walton Arena not available on cable television via LADYBACKS.COM video streaming, plus the Arkansas road game from Oregon via a shared feed in the XOS system. This means that 19 of Arkansas’ 27 regular season games can be viewed live by cable or internet.