The University of Arkansas women?s basketball team received an at-large bid as a 10-seed and faces Northwestern (23-8) Friday at 11 a.m. in Waco in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. {{more}}
The Razorbacks (17-13) are making their first appearance under first-year head coach Jimmy Dykes and their first since 2012 when they advanced to the second round. Along for the ride, is first year Lady Razorback, McKinley Bostad (KHS 2014).A two year all-state player from Kennedale …Bostad, a two year all-state player from Kennedale, was recruited last year by Arkansas. As a freshman, she has come off the bench to play in every game for the Ladybacks. She started her first college game when Arkansas beat Missouri 73-55 in early January. She put up 15 points and played 33 minutes and earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors.
Based on Arkansas strength of schedule, which included non-conference victories over Iowa and Oklahoma and at Middle Tennessee, and SEC powers LSU and Georgia, then beating Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament, Razorbacks qualified as one of the at-large teams for the NCAA tournament.
“I’m so excited for our players, staff and fans,” Dykes was quoted in a press release issued Monday night by the University of Arkansas.
“The NCAA Tournament is the goal of every program and for us to achieve that in our first season together is very rewarding. The opportunity to play more games together and continue to learn and grow as a team is critical as we build the foundation of what we expect will be a nationally competitive program for years to come.”
Bostad, a 5?9 shooting guard, graduated in 2014 from Kennedale High School. She played on the 2013 LadyKat team, that made the 3A state finals and the 2014 team that reach the ?sweet sixteen? in the UIL regionals. Her senior year, she averaged 22 point per game and was named the Girls 1A-2A-3A Athlete of the Year.
Her toughness and grit have been noticed…
Bostad?s style has always been playing ?all out? whether it was in practice or a game. This style has helped her this season but it also helped her earn the dubious fame as that freshman who “literally” left her mark on the floor.Earlier in the year, she made ESPN?s sports talk when she went for the ball during a Mississippi game and smashed face first into the floor, chipping off her two front teeth. After sitting for a short time, she returned to finish playing the game.She earned high praise for toughness and grit from the ESPN commentators who are still recalling the incident months afterwards.The Arkansas team trainer recovered the pieces of teeth that were later cemented back but the floor at Mississippi still bares the teeth marks of the freshman player from Kennedale via the University of Arkansas.
