Razorbacks Travel To Texas A&M On Thursday

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas women’s basketball team travels to Texas A&M for its second road game of the Southeastern Conference season on Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Reed Arena.

The Razorbacks (11-5, 0-3 SEC) have played well in its first three SEC games with single digit deficits in those contests. The Razorback defense has been solid in the early part of the conference season and Arkansas has been able to get offensive production from a number of different players.

Defensively, Arkansas ranks fourth in the SEC and 28th in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to 56.1 points per game. The Razorbacks also rank third in the SEC in field-goal percentage defense (.356) and have held opponents under 30 percent shooting in six games this season.

Six different players have scored in double figures in SEC play. Senior Jessica Jackson is Arkansas’ go-to player but opponents have tried to limit her impact on the games. As a result, other players have stepped up including sophomore Malica Monk.

Monk missed the first SEC game with an injury but is averaging a team-best 11.5 points per game in conference play. Sophomore Keiryn Swenson (10.3) and junior Devin Cosper (10.0) also average double figures. Jackson is averaging 9.7 ppg but leads the team in rebounding with 6.3 rebounds per contest.

Texas A&M (12-4, 2-1 SEC) is coming off its second win over a ranked opponent this season, after defeating No. 24 Kentucky 77-68 this past Sunday in Lexington. The Aggies are currently fifth among other teams receiving votes in the latest Associated Press poll.

The Aggies have three players averaging in double figures, led by Danni Williams, who also ranks second in the SEC in scoring, averaging 17.7 points per game. Khaalia Hillsman averages 16.6 points per game, followed by Anriel Howard who averages a double-double with 11.5 points per game and 11.8 rebounds per game.

The Opponent
Arkansas leads the all-time series with Texas A&M 21-7 but has lost four of the five meetings since the Aggies joined the SEC prior to the 2012-13 season. The Aggies won the first four meetings as SEC foes, before the Razorbacks won last year’s lone meeting in Fayetteville, 67-61.

Picked to finish sixth in the SEC preseason coaches’ poll, Texas A&M is 12-4 overall and 2-1 in SEC play, including a neutral-site win over No. 19 Syracuse in late December and a road win over No. 24 Kentucky this past Sunday.

Notable
• Arkansas is 8-19 in road games under head coach Jimmy Dykes. That mark includes a 1-2 record this season and a 3-14 record in conference road games.
• Making her fifth straight start, Devin Cosper scored a team-high 15 points against LSU, finishing three points shy of her season and career high for points.
• Jessica Jackson saw her career-best, season-long double-figure scoring streak snapped at 15 games, when was held to six points against LSU. Jackson ranks ninth in the SEC in scoring, 16.5 points per game.
• Jessica Jackson ranks 15th in the SEC in field-goal percentage (41.4 percent). She also ranks fifth in the SEC in free throws attempted (83) and seventh in free throws made (59).
• Arkansas held No. 4 Mississippi State to 59 points, its second-lowest scoring output of the season, and 36.5 percent shooting from the floor and 18.2 percent shooting from 3-point range, both of which are its second-lowest shooting percentages of the season.
• Arkansas has held opponents under 30 percent shooting in six games this season: Sam Houston State (26.9), Louisiana-Monroe (22.1), Tulsa (29.7), Northwestern State (25.0), Houston Baptist (24.1) and LSU (28.8).
• Arkansas has won the rebounding battle in 12 of the first 16 games this season, going 10-2 in those games and improving to 33-9 when winning the rebounding battle under head coach Jimmy Dykes.
• Arkansas finished with an 11-2 nonconference regular-season record, the best under head coach Jimmy Dykes and the best since a 13-0 record during the 2013-14 season.

Looking Ahead
Arkansas continues play on the road, traveling to Alabama on Sunday, before returning for back-to-back home games against Vanderbilt (Jan. 19) and Missouri (Jan. 23). Other future home games include Georgia (Feb. 2), No. 5 South Carolina (Feb. 5), No. 24 Kentucky (Feb. 16) and Auburn (Feb. 26).

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.

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