Courtesy of Fuller Birch
OXFORD, Miss. – Arkansas women’s basketball (11-14, 0-10 SEC) remains on the road to face No. 14 Ole Miss (19-5, 6-3 SEC) on Thursday, Feb. 12.
The game can a be heard on 92.1 The Ticket and the 92.1 The Ticket app, starting at 7:45
INSIDE THE SERIES
Arkansas and Ole Miss will meet for the 48th time since the Hogs joined the SEC for the 1991-92 season and the 53rd time overall. The Rebels have won five straight meetings dating back to the 2021 SEC Tournament. The Razorbacks’ last win in Oxford came in 2020 when then-No. 23 Arkansas won 108-64. Record against: 21-31 In Fayetteville: 14-7 In Oxford: 4-18 Neutral: 3-6
QUICK HITS
Arkansas enters its 26th game overall and its 11th SEC game of the Kelsi Musick era. Musick has never faced Ole Miss. The Razorbacks started SEC play with four straight ranked matchups: #12 Vanderbilt, at #24 Alabama, #3 South Carolina and at #20 Tennessee. Seven of Arkansas’ first 10 SEC opponents have been ranked. Bonnie Deas’ 229 rebounds rank fifth in the SEC and 31st nationally. As a team, Arkansas ranks fifth in the SEC and 18th nationally with 42.32 rebounds per game. Taleyah Jones ranks ninth in the SEC and 72nd nationallywith 17.3 points per game. Next up: The Razorbacks will host Mississippi State on Monday, Feb. 16.
LAST TIME OUT
Arkansas picked up its second straight loss by single digits on Sunday at Florida, 75-69. Florida’s 75 points were the fewest the Hogs have allowed in an SEC game this season. Emily Robinson finished with a season-high 21 points and led Arkansas in scoring for the second time in the last three games. Deas led the Hogs in rebounds for the 18th time this season with 13. It was her 12th game with 10+ rebounds this season and third of SEC play. Senior Taleyah Jones hit five threes for the second-straight game to tie her career high. Arkansas finished two rebounds shy of Florida, 45-43, after being outrebounded 14-6 in the first quarter. The Hogs were down 10 with 3 minutes left but cut it to 4 with 34 seconds left.
ON THE REBELS
Ole Miss is coming off a 64-63 loss at No. 21 Alabama on Sunday to fall to 6-3 in SEC play. The Rebels excel in defense with the third-best scoring defense in the SEC at 57.2 points per game and at getting to the free throw line with 23.5 attempts per game, the second most in the SEC. Ole Miss is led by forward Cotie McMahon with 19.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg and 2.7 ppg. McMahon leads the Rebels to the line with the second-most attempts in the SEC at 156.
GETTING BETTER
Arkansas got off to a rough start in its first five SEC games of the season. Playing four straight ranked opponents didn’t help, but the worst loss came at unranked Mizzou on Jan. 15, 94-69. In the first five games, the Hogs averaged just 59.2 points and shot 34% from the field with 20.4 turnovers a game. Only one player (Jones) was scoring in double figures. Since the Georgia game on Jan. 22 (which Arkansas would’ve won if not for a one-point second quarter), the Hogs are scoring 72.0 points per game and up to 38.6% from the field. Turnovers are down to 15.2 per game and the team is actually forcing five more turnovers from opponents. Three Razorbacks have 10+ points per game in this stretch: Jones (19.8), Robinson (14.4) and Deas (11.0). Arkansas has trailed by single digits in the last four halftime scores (LSU, Kentucky, Missouri, Florida). The Hogs were supposed to face Texas on Jan. 25 but the game was postponed to Feb. 19 due to winter weather.
MUSIC CITY CLASSIC
The Hogs picked up a pair of wins at the Music City Classic in Nasvhille, Tennessee. Arkansas led wire-to-wire against Drake for a 79-71 win, and came back from down 12 points to defeat Southern Illinois, 73-63. Arkansas guard Taleyah Jones was named the event’s MVP after scoring 38 points over the two games (15 & 23). The Music City Classic was the Razorbacks’ only multi-team event this season.
MVP
Taleyah Jones is Arkansas’ leading scorer through 24 games with 17.3 points per game, good enough for top 10 in the SEC and No. 72 nationally. Jones has collected 19 10-plus point games and nine 20-plus point games this season. She’s led Arkansas in scoring 13 times this season. She led the Hogs in scoring in six straight games and was named MVP in November’s Music City Classic. Jones missed Arkansas’ games against Jackson State and Missouri State due to a concussion. Jones scored 24 points in her return against Kansas City on Dec. 17. Jones transferred to Arkansas after playing two seasons at Oral Roberts under Musick, where she received First and Second Team All-Summit League honors and was named the league’s newcomer of the year in 2024.
A FEW FIRSTS
Kelsi Musick is Arkansas women’s basketball’s first female head coach since Susie Gardner led the Razorbacks from 2003-2007. Hometown firsts: Danika Galea is the first Maltin player in Razorback history. Aisha Hassan is the first Egyptian player in Razorback history. Ashlynn Chlarson is the first Arizonan in Razorback history.
50 SEASONS
Arkansas women’s basketball will celebrate its 50th season in 2025-26. The program was founded in 1976 and has accumulated 894 wins since its first game against North Arkansas CC on Nov. 19, 1976. The Razorbacks’ first win came on Dec. 1, 1976 against John Brown, 92-87.
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE
Freshman guard Bonnie Deas made quite the impression following the first week of the college basketball season. Deas averaged 18.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, the most by a freshman in the country through the first three games. Deas picked up recognition from the SEC, earning freshman of the week honors. Though her numbers have changed through 24 games, she is one of six freshmen (the only in the SEC, Big 12 or Big 10) and one of four guards (all classes, only in the SEC, ACC or Big 10) in the country to average at least 10.0 points and 9.0 rebounds. Prior to Arkansas’ game against South Carolina, she, at 5-9, was the shortest player in the country to average a double-double. Deas’ 9.2 rebounds per game rank sixth in the SEC and 46th nationally. Among freshmen, she ranks ninth in rebounds per game and first among freshman guards. Her 229 total rebounds rank fifth in the SEC and 35th nationally, seventh among freshmen and fourth among guards from all classes. This summer, she led her country to a silver medal in the FIBA U-19 Women’s World Cup. Deas averaged 12.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3 assists in 6 games at the World Cup and earned All-Star Five team honors alongside USA’s Saniyah Hall, the No. 1 prospect in the 2026 class, and UCLA’s Sienna Betts. Deas was Australia’s leading scorer in the championship game with 13 points in an 88-76 loss to the United States.
THE NEWCOMERS
The Razorbacks added eight newcomers to the 2025-26 roster: 5 transfers and 3 freshmen. Maria Anais Rodriguez joined Arkansas from Oklahoma State, where she saw action in 10 games during her first season, including three Big 12 games against Colorado, UCF and Arizona. On the FIBA side, she helped Spain to a 6-1 mark and the Silver Medal at the FIBA U18 Women’s Eurobasket competition in 2024 and averaged 8.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists during the event.
Taleyah Jones followed Coach Musick to Arkansas after playing for her during her sophomore and junior seasons. Jones was the Summit League Newcomer of the Year in 2024 and a First Team All-Summit League selection in 2025. Last season, she led ORU’s offense that ranked in the top 10 nationally in scoring average (83.2) with 18.1 points per game.
Wyvette Mayberry signed with Arkansas on April 3, 2025, the first signee of the Musick era. Mayberry started her career at Tulsa before transferring to Kansas after two seasons. At Tulsa, she was named to the AAC All-Freshman team and led the Golden Hurricane in scoring her sophomore season with 14.1 points per game. At Kansas, she started in 31 games her junior season and recorded four 20+ point games. She started in all 32 games during her senior year and averaged 9.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. She injured her knee during her fifth year and came to Arkansas to finish her career.
Ashlynn Chlarson is the only JUCO product on this year’s team and joined Arkansas from Eastern Arizona CC in Thatcher, Arizona. In her two seasons with the Monsters, she averaged 8.4 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game. Last season, she nearly averaged a double-double, with 10.9 points/game and 9.2 rebounds/game. She earned first team all-conference, second team all-region and NJCAA All-Tournament Team honors in 2025.
Emily Robinson also made the move from Oral Roberts after a successful start to her career. She was named the 2024 Summit League Freshman of the Year after averaging 10.3 points/game, 3.7 rebounds/game and 2.5 assists/game. She was the only freshman in the league to average double figures. She started in all 33 games her sophomore season and averaged 10.0 points/game and led ORU with 3.4 assists/game. She scored 17 points in the Summit League Tournament championship game against No. 24 South Dakota State.
Harmonie Ware, Aisha Hassan and Bonnie Deas were part of the 2025 signing class that Coach Musick managed to keep following her hiring in March.
THE FIBA FOUR
Four Razorbacks represent their countries at this summer’s FIBA events. Bonnie Deas (Australia) led her country to a silver medal in the FIBA U-19 Women’s World Cup. Deas averaged 12.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3 assists in 6 games at the World Cup and earned All-Star Five team honors alongside USA’s Saniyah Hall, the No. 1 prospect in the 2026 class, and UCLA’s Sienna Betts. Deas was Australia’s leading scorer in the championship game with 13 points in an 88-76 loss to the United States. Cristina Sanchez Cerqueira represented Spain in the U-20 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket and won gold. Maria Anais Rodriguez also represented Spain at the U-19 FIBA Women’s EuroBasket and earned a bronze medal. Danika Galea played for Malta in the FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup and won a silver medal in the qualifier in Prishtina, Kosovo.
NEW STAFF
Joining Musick for her first season in Fayetteville are new assistant coaches Brad Johnson and Alex Furr. Johnson made the short trip from nearby Farmington, Arkansas, where he was the head coach of the highly successful Farmington High School girls program, the home of Jenna Lawrence. Overall, Johnson finished his high school coaching career with 419 wins, four state titles, eight conference titles and seven state finals appearances. Furr joins the staff from SMU, where she served as an assistant coach and director of player development for two seasons. Furr played at Fresno State from 2010-2014 and ranks in the all-time top 10 in 3-pointers made and career free throw percentage. Other new staff include Director of On-Court Development Greg Gilman and Video Coordinator Carter Mumm. Assistants Lacey Goldwire and Nick Bradford and longtime Director of Operations Amber Shirey remain on staff.
UP NEXT
The Hogs will host Mississippi State on Monday, Feb. 16, inside Bud Walton Arena.
