FAYETTEVILLE — Little Rock native Whitley Rogers had her first big-time moment as a Razorback on Monday.
With Arkansas leading Kansas City 82-77 with less than two minutes to play, Rogers got an open look at a three on the right wing and buried it, sinking what was essentially the kill shot in the Razorbacks’ 89-81 win over the Roos.
“I’ve seen her do it a lot, so I expect nothing [less] from her,” head coach Kelsi Musick said. “If anyone got me in action over there, I was probably in a deep fist pump, going crazy. I’ve seen Whitley do that. So, I have the utmost confidence when she takes those shots because I’ve seen her do it in high school. I’ve seen her do it in summer ball, and she’s going to do it for a long time on this on this court.”
Upon rewatch, you can Musick nervously stomping down the sideline as Rogers’ shot was in the air and celebrate as soon as it dropped through the net.
“From a young age you always act out scenarios and stuff,” Rogers said. “I mean, it was a open shot and I shot and it went in.”
After a jumper from Micaela Carter once again cut Arkansas’ lead to six, Rogers was fouled and sent to the foul line, where the Razorbacks struggled all night. Arkansas shot just 17-29 (58.3 percent) from the charity stripe and were under 50 percent early in the game.
But Rogers, who was 4-4 at the free throw line on Monday, sunk a pair to give Arkansas an 87-79 lead and truly seal the contest.
“We can’t miss that many free throws,” Musick said. “I mean, we missed 12 free throws. We’re better shooters than that, so we got to be more confident and step up to the line. That’s a huge difference. I mean, we get some more points from the free throw lin,e that stretches the game a little bit, gives you a little bit of comfortability, and allows you to to play a little bit different towards the end of the game.”
Rogers ended the night with 17 points on 5-11 shooting from the floor, as well as three rebounds, four assists, one block and two steals.
“Coach always says you got to be ready,” said forward D’Asia Thomas-Harris.”Next person up, and I feel like Whitley was ready, and she’s always ready to play, and that’s what we need from someone that young.”
The freshman who was the No. 1 player in the state coming out of Little Rock Christian looked the part in a Razorback jersey on Monday.
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