The Arkansas women's basketball team goes into the San Juan Shootout on a two-game losing skid and with lots of work to do, coach Jimmy Dykes said.
"We're kind of starting over. That's where we're at right now," Dykes said. "We're disappointed in the loss (to Tulsa). Now we have to put it behind us and get ready to go to Puerto Rico. We have two really hard games down there this weekend."
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Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Arkansas women
WHEN 1:30 CST
WHERE San Juan Shootout at Mario Quijote Morales Colisuem, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
RECORDS Louisiana-Lafayette 2-1; Arkansas 2-2.
RADIO KABZ-FM 103.7 in Little Rock; KQSM-FM 92.1 in Fayetteville; KFPW-AM 1230 and KFPW-FM 94.5 in Fort Smith; KURM-AM 790 and KURM-FM 100.3 in Rogers.
ONLINE ArkansasRazorbacks.…
CHALK TALK Arkansas will play its second game in the shootout at 1:30 p.m. (CST) on Friday against No. 7 Oregon State. … Louisiana Lafayette is led by junior Jaylyn Gordon, who averages 16 points per game. … Arkansas leads the series 3-1 vs. ULL and haven’t met since Dec. 16, 2004, an 82-66 Arkansas win. … Arkansas is 1-1 all-time vs. 3-0 Oregon State.
The Razorbacks (2-2) open play this afternoon against Louisiana-Lafayette (2-1), which lost 52-51 to Houston on Sunday.
Arkansas struggled shooting the ball in the loss to Tulsa on Monday, but Dykes has other concerns.
"Our defense is very concerning," Dykes said. "Here we are scoring 67 points, and it's not great, but you get close to scoring 70 points on your home court and can't win. The offense isn't great, but the defense is a big concern right now. We've got to figure out what's the best way for this team to win this year.
"We are a long, long ways from being a good basketball team," Dykes said. "As young as we are, it's probably going to take awhile. The problem is, our schedule is so hard right now, there's no way to catch our breath right now. We've just got to keep on fighting."
The Razorbacks have eight newcomers on the roster, including five freshmen. Jessica Jackson has been a constant, averaging a shade under a double-double with 21.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-3 junior poured in a season-high 29 points against Tulsa, but no other Razorback scored more than six.
Arkansas had some success late in the game against Tulsa using a four-guard lineup with Jackson. Dykes said it's something they could use going forward.
"We cleared the basket area out and drove and got some layups, and we got some throwbacks out to Jess, got her isolated one-one-one and that worked for us well in the fourth quarter," Dykes said. "We're four games in, starting all over with these new players, so it's going to take us awhile to figure out what's the best way for us to play, what gives us the best chance of winning. Everything is on the table right now. We have back-to-back losses to two good teams. But that's what we get paid for."
In addition to a solid Louisiana-Lafayette team, Arkansas will face Oregon State, ranked No. 7 in the country in the latest Associated Press poll, on Saturday. Dykes admitted the Razorbacks don't match up well against either team.
"Not very well right now. If you asked me before the (Tulsa) game, I'd have thought differently. Louisiana-Lafayette, they're a good team. They had Ole Miss down 20 at Oxford couple weeks ago and ended up wining the game by six or eight, and Oregon State this week bumped up to No. 7 in the nation. Those are our two games in Puerto Rico. So we'll have to get better real quick and play really well down there to give ourselves a chance."
Sports on 11/27/2015