Cosper’s big second leads Hogs to win over Charlotte
FAYETTEVILLE — Devin Cosper had 16 points and seven rebounds in the second half leading Arkansas to a come-from-behind win over Charlotte in Bud Walton Arena on Thursday.
Junior Malica Monk added 15 points and has also scored in double figures in each game this year. Sophomore Jailyn Mason dropped in 12 points and sophomore Kiara Williams just missed a double-double with 12 rebounds and nine points.
Arkansas (6-3) trailed Charlotte (3-6) by seven, 37-30, at the half but rallied for the 73-72 victory. Cosper finished with career-bests for points with 25 and rebounds with 14.
It is the fourth double-double of the season for the Coffeyville, Kansas, native and her ninth consecutive game in double-figure scoring.
Slow Start
The Razorbacks have battled slow starts all season and tonight’s game was no different. Arkansas was scoreless for almost five minutes to start the contest before a 3-pointer from the right side by Mason got the Razorbacks started.
Arkansas went on a 6-0 run tying the game before the media timeout.
Charlotte opened the second quarter going 4-for-4 taking an eight-point lead early in the frame.
Arkansas clawed its way back into the game with back-to-back 3-pointers, but Charlotte’s good shooting continued with two more buckets stretching the lead to seven points at the break.
The Rally Backs
The Razorbacks were out-rebounded, 34-16, in the first half and trailed the 49ers. A renewed effort and a couple of schematic changes fueled a strong second half allowing Arkansas to get the win.
Arkansas moved away from a defensive double-team of the 49ers’ post player and found some room in the paint in the final 20 minutes. They outscored (43-35), and out-rebounded (29-24) Charlotte in the third and fourth quarters.
The Razorbacks opened the third period on an 8-0 run as the offense heated up. Cosper scored nine points and Monk added seven points in the frame allowing the Razorbacks to move into the fourth quarter tied with Charlotte, 49-all.
The final quarter was nip-and-tuck until Arkansas rattled off seven points in a row grabbing a six-point advantage with 0:41 to play. Charlotte scored and had to foul Arkansas to get the ball back. The Razorbacks made 3-of-4 from the charity stripe in the closing seconds to secure the win.
Notes
• Devin Cosper had her fourth double-double of the season with a career-best 25 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Cosper had nine points and seven boards in the first half. It is her fifth game with 20 or more points – the fourth one this season.
• Devin Cosper scored in double figures for the ninth consecutive game of the season finishing with 25 on Thursday.
• Devin Cosper has at least one made 3-pointer in every game this year. She had two against Charlotte.
• Malica Monk has scored in double figures in every game this year, finishing with 15 points on Thursday. Malica Monk scored 13 points in the second half.
• Jailyn Mason scored 12 points. It is her fourth double-figure scoring game and the third in a row.
• Kiara Williams finished with 12 rebounds. Her fourth double-digit rebounding game and her second in a row.
• Bailey Zimmerman had a season-best six points.
• Arkansas is 3-3 in games in which they trail at the half.
Up Next
Arkansas is in the midst of a three-game home stand. The Razorbacks welcome Tulsa on Sunday at 2 p.m. and host UT-Arlington Dec.17. It is also finals week for Arkansas.
Anderson previews Saturday’s matchup with No. 14 Gophers
Arkansas coach Mike Anderson met with the media Thursday and previewed Saturday’s matchup at Bud Walton Arena with No. 14 Minnesota.
Morris: ‘Get in left lane and put the hammer down’
You get the feeling there’s no need to ask Chad Morris for a timeline.
The guy doesn’t appear to do much of anything slow when it comes to football and at his introductory press conference Thursday he may have come up with what are probably words to live by:
“Get in the left lane and put the hammer down.”
He’s not just talking about his offense. This guy goes at warp speed just walking across the room.
Which is a refreshing change of pace.
“You won’t find a more explosive offense in college football,” he promised.
It’s been awhile since Razorback fans got to hear those words. Bret Bielema’s offensive approach was hardly in the conversation. It was a slow, methodical approach.
Morris wants to go all the time.
“There won’t be much time to sit in the seats,” he warned fans. “We will play fast.”
Morris’ teams at SMU had a lot of offense. There wasn’t much defense, but if you look across the landscape of college football nobody in the non-Power 5 group of schools plays a lot of defense.
It comes down to selling tickets and depth. Coaches tend to put their best players on offense and the defensive depth gets rather thin on most schools on that level. Depth is what truly separates them from the bigger boys.
There’s the feeling Morris is going to put more emphasis on defense here than he did at SMU and he knows what teams have to stop in the SEC.
“Defensively, we’ll be built around stopping the run,” he said. “We’ll hire the best defensive coordinator in college football. That’s the standard.”
He didn’t give any indication who that might be, but the guess is it won’t be Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables.
But defense will be something that is important. Many fans see the eye-popping numbers his offense put up at SMU … and how the defense gave up whopping numbers.
That’s the difference in caliber of play and the type players they get. Arkansas’ current roster has more defensive talent than SMU has had simply because that’s the nature of the beast.
Listening to him, though, it’s something fans want to hear.
“I want players extremely upset at the end of the game because they have to wait seven days to hit again,” he said of his defensive players. “We want to be explosive and create turnovers on special teams.”
Now the challenge is doing it.
While fans think there aren’t any players here that’s not true from this corner.
Oh, there’s not enough sheer talent to pick them over Alabama, but this was not 4-8 talent.
And he wasted little time starting to get more. He was recruiting before he was airborn out of Dallas headed to Fayetteville.
There will be an increased emphasis on recruiting.
And speed.
Morris even wants linemen to be fast. They’ll have to be in his up-tempo style of play.
But that’s just like everything else about this guy.
Get ready to put the hammer down.
Chad Morris’ first Hog Call as coach of Razorbacks
Watch new Arkansas coach Chad Morris’ first Hog Call at the end of the press conference after his introduction Thursday.
Morris’ first press conference with media
New Arkansas coach Chad Morris met with the media for the first time after being introduced Thursday.
