FAYETTEVILLE -- Arkansas didn't take long to dispose of Butler on Wednesday night.
The Razorbacks grabbed a 10-0 lead and defeated the Bulldogs 68-50 in nonconference action at Bud Walton Arena. Senior Jessica Jackson scored 19 points and sophomore Keiryn Swenson 15 points off the bench for Arkansas (9-0), which stretched its lead to 28-9 in the second quarter.
Arkansas 68, Butler 50
Butler^8^13^16^13^—^50
Arkansas^19^15^22^12^—^68
Butler: Schickel 16, Buford 11, Spolyar 8, Ward 7, Weaver 6, Brey 2.
Arkansas: Jackson 19, Swenson 15, Cosper 13, Monk 11, Cooley 4, Zimmerman 4, Williams 2.
3-point FG — Butler 4-9 (Buford 3-4, Spolyar 1-1, Brey 0-1, Bailey 0-1, Ward 0-1, Weaver 0-1. Arkansas 6-12 (Swenson 3-3, Cosper 1-1, Zimmerman 1-3, Jackson 1-3, Wilson 0-2. Assists — Butler 11 (Spolyar 3), Arkansas 18 (Monk, Mason 5). Steals — Butler 14 (Schickel 5), Arkansas 10 (Jackson 3). Blocked shots — Butler 4 (Brey 2), Arkansas 4 (Swenson 2). Turnovers — Butler 21 (Ward 4), Arkansas 19 (Jackson 5).
Technical fouls — None. Fouled out — None. Att. — 530.
Butler got to within eight in the third quarter before Swenson led another spurt with a block and a 3-pointer to put the Razorbacks ahead 49-36. The reserve from Wichita, Kan., made six of seven shots after beginning Wednesday averaging eight points per game.
"I was missing everything during warm ups, so I was nervous coming into the game," Swenson said. "But once I hit that first shot, I got all my confidence back."
Devin Cosper scored 13 points and Malica Monk 11 for Arkansas while Tori Schickel finished with 16 points to lead the Bulldogs.
"Keiryn was a big spark for us in the first half the way she shot the ball," Arkansas coach Jimmy Dykes said. "Anytime we moved the ball from side-to-side we got a good shot and knocked it down. It was a good win and we're pleased to be 9-0."
Down 10-0, Butler (2-7) called a timeout halfway through the first quarter in an attempt to slow down the Razorbacks. But Arkansas continued to play at a high level, even with its reserves on the court.
Swenson played 13 minutes in the first half and scored 12 points on 5 of 5 shooting. Butler's only spurt came late in the second quarter when Taylor Buford made consecutive 3-pointers to cut the Arkansas lead to 10. But Swenson ended the first half with a 3-pointer to put the Razorbacks ahead 34-21.
"The start of the game hurt us tremendously," Butler coach Kurt Godlevske said. "We got the looks we wanted and didn't convert and then you factor how they shot the ball with their inside and outside play, but I thought our kids balled."
The outcome was mostly decided in the first half when Arkansas shot 60.9 percent (14 of 23) and Butler 36 percent (8 of 22) from the field. Butler took shots that failed to hit the rim and the Bulldogs made only three baskets from outside of the lane in the first half.
Arkansas will follow Wednesday's win with an away game at Missouri State on Sunday. The Razorbacks then return home for games against Northwestern State and Oral Roberts, before opening SEC play at Ole Miss on Jan. 1.
Sports on 12/08/2016