Arkansas' culture-shifting win kicks off Musick era over Louisiana Tech

New Arkansas coach Kelsi Musick's tenure was not even 5 minutes old, but nothing had gone right.

The team got called for four offensive fouls and trailed Louisiana Tech 17-2, but the Razorbacks pulled off a 27-point swing to give Musick her first win as a Razorback, 93-81.

"I'm just extremely proud of my team," Musick said. “Teams in that situation, especially a new team, everything's new, and new staff, new team, new everything. They could have easily rolled over and they didn't."

“I'm extremely proud of their grit in their fight, but that just shows the culture and the things that we're doing and the way that we're gonna play for 40 minutes no matter what."

The Razorbacks found their mojo after Musick called a timeout midway through the first quarter after trailing by 15. Musick didn't hide her feelings in the timeout.

"I was mad," Musick said. "I know that the message was I did get all over them. 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."

Arkansas established a level of toughness that was lacking from the 2024-25 team, the Razorbacks finished the night with 19 offensive rebounds, two more than their season high last season across any of its 32 games. They also won the overall rebounding battle by 14, 50-36.

The Razorbacks also settle down after a sloppy first quarter that included four offensive fouls and seven turnovers.

"We couldn't even get an offensive flow," Jones said about the early charges. "It affected us, but we were able to settle down and actually like, okay, they're coming to take charges every time. We have to slow down, jump stop, be able to pass it to the new person."

Guards Taleyah Jones and Bonnie Deas led the team, combining for 45 points. Deas scored 21 of her team-high 25 in the second half after starting 0-for-7 from field in her college debut.

Jones also led the team with 12 rebounds, finishing with her first career double-double. She shattered her previous career high of eight boards.

Center Ashlynn Chlarson also had a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards in just 20 minutes.

"I wasn't really a rebounder my previous years," Jones said. "I was like I need to hone in and add something to my game and it was rebounding. I really have been taking pride in defensive rebounding.

Arkansas will once again be one of the smaller teams in the SEC. Charlson is the tallest player on the team at 6-foot-3, but Musick wants her team to keep the same intensity.

"We have to be better rebounders," Musick said. "There's going to be nights we're gonna be a little outmatched and we're gonna be a little outsized. We're not gonna be the team that's gonna make excuses."

Arkansas now faces in-state school Arkansas Pine-Bluff 10:30 a.m. Friday. The game will be streamed on SEC+.

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