FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 6 LSU (16-0, 1-0 SEC) opened SEC play with a resounding 98-64 win at Arkansas (7-9, 0-1 SEC) Thursday night in Bud Walton Arena.

“I could tell quickly that we were clicking on all cylinders,” Coach Kim Mulkey said. “A lot of that had to do with our transition offense and long rebounds that gave everyone the green light down the court.”

Aneesah Morrow earned her 14th double-double of the season with an 11 point, 10 rebound showing. It was also her 88th career double-double, tied for the fourth most in NCAA DI history. 

Flau’jae Johnson logged her 4th double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kailyn Gilbert posted 16 points on 7-12 shooting in 18 minutes of action and Mikaylah Williams scored 14 points and tacked on 2 rebounds and 1 steal. 

Last-Tear Poa was effective too, going 3-4 for her first threes of the season and scoring 9 points with 6 assists.

Jersey Wolfenbarger, going up against her former team, scored 8 points with 5 rebounds. LSU was proactive throughout its whole roster Thursday night as all 12 players who were available scored.

“I was very impressed with Poa,” Coach Mulkey said. “We didn’t expect them to guard Poa and we thought they would double down on Morrow which they did, but Poa gained some confidence back tonight by hitting some shots.”

Arkansas was led by Izzy Higginbottom, who scored a game-high 27 points on 10-21 shooting. Vera Ojenuwa paced the Razorbacks with 8 rebounds. Arkansas shot just 36-percent and 31-percent from deep.

Williams opened the scoring for LSU in its first conference test. The Tigers jumped out to an early 7-0 lead over the Razorbacks after starting the contest an efficient 3-5 from the field.

LSU expanded its lead to double digits at 12-2 after Last-Tear Poa connected on her first three pointer of the season. The Arkansas offense strung together scoring possessions to go on an 8-0 run late in the first quarter.

LSU maintained production on the offensive end of the floor to end the first quarter with a 23-14 lead over the Razorbacks. Wolfenbarger led the Tigers in scoring with 6 points on 3-4 shooting in the first quarter. LSU was stifling on the defensive side and forced 7 Arkansas turnovers in the opening period. 

Sa’Myah Smith got the Tigers started with a mid-range jumper to open the second quarter. LSU started the second period with a 9-4 scoring run and held Arkansas to a 2-5 shooting mark to begin the quarter.

Williams connected on a pull up three pointer to put the Tigers up 37-22 midway through the second. LSU held Arkansas scoreless in the last 4 minutes of the half to take a commanding 51-26 lead at halftime.

The Tigers saw offensive contribution from all around the lineup, as six players finished the half with 6 or more points. LSU was also efficient from three point range in the first half, shooting 5-9 from beyond the arc.

The Tigers were able to capitalize off of the 13 forced turnovers with 19 points coming from the defensive stops. LSU thrived on the fastbreak in the first half, as the Tigers scored 18 points on the break compared to Arkansas’ zero. 

Morrow and Johnson both connected on buckets to kick off the second half for the Tigers. Poa connected on her third three pointer of the game to extend the LSU lead to 30 points with 7 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

LSU continued its dominance all throughout the third quarter, as the Tigers shot 7-11 in the first 5 minutes of the quarter and out rebounded the Razorbacks 7-1. LSU’s third quarter offensive barrage was led by Johnson, who scored 7 points on 2-3 shooting and grabbed 3 rebounds in the process.

The Tigers outscored the Razorbacks 32-10 in the third quarter to take an 83-36 lead with one quarter to play. LSU held Arkansas to 4-16 shooting in the third quarter and forced 7 turnovers.

The Tiger offense was efficient yet again with a 12-21 shooting mark in the third quarter to expand on the commanding lead. 

Both Morrow and Johnson earned double-doubles in the beginning of the fourth quarter, with Morrow earning her 14th double-double of the season.

Arkansas went on an 11-1 run in the fourth quarter to attempt a comeback, but LSU’s lead proved to be too much for the Razorbacks.

The Tigers continued to produce on the offensive end to maintain a strong lead in the fourth quarter. LSU was able to steady the ship in the final quarter to play to reach the final score of 98-64.

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas’ Izzy Higginbottom tried to drag the Razorbacks to victory over No. 6 LSU, but the Tigers’ balance was too much too handle. LSU cruised to a 98-64 win to open SEC play. The Hogs fell to 7-9 while LSU improved to 16-0 on the season.

The game happened less than 48 hours after the deadly attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. A moment of silence was paid before the game for the victims.

“You just wish you could do something,” coach Kim Mulkey said postgame. “I thought it was very classy of Arkansas to do that. There were kids from our area, Baton Rouge. I can’t quit thinking about it. It’s so close to home. It just hits you right smack in the face. You get emotional because I cannot imagine those families right now.”

The Razorbacks were limited to a one-person wrecking crew. Guard Izzy Higginbottom, who came into the night No.4 nationally in points per game at 23.8, scored 27 of the Hogs 64 points, including 16 in the first half.

Other players donning the Razorbacks uniform were held to just 31 points and 14-for-46 (30.3%) from the floor. Carly Keats was the team’s second leading scorer at just 18 points, 15 in the fourth quarter of the game where the Hogs were already down by over 40.

LSU used its plethora of talent to blitz Arkansas. The Tigers jumped out to a 16-2 lead. Four different players reached double figures.

Former Razorback Jersey Wolfenbarger just missed out with eight points. The Fort Smith native who played under Neighbors from 2021-2023, averaging just 3.9 in her final season at Arkansas.

Flau’jae Johnson, one of three LSU players on the preseason Naismith Watch List for player of the year, picked up a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Aneesah Morrow had a double-double of her own with 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Tigers outrebounded the Hogs 48-32.

Arkansas will now face another top SEC team in No. 5 Texas on the road. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday. The game will be streamed on SEC+.

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Jimmy Carter, who died Dec. 29 at 100, remains a figure who defies simple characterization. I talked to him several times over the years; in 2001 I interviewed him on the record. This is an edited version of the piece that originally ran in February 2001.

Jimmy Carter exuded both humility and a flicker of unfulfilled ambition. The 39th president, renowned for his integrity and compassion, often seemed to carry a quiet longing to prove himself anew — even after transcending the political fray to become a global symbol of decency.

By the turn of the century, Carter had become widely acknowledged as one of America’s finest ex-presidents. His post-presidency, defined by election monitoring and Habitat for Humanity builds, showcased his enduring commitment to service. Yet the man who was once dismissed for his somber candor — a president plagued by crises in energy and foreign policy — still sought recognition for his accomplishments. In 2001, he reflected wistfully on narrowly missing a Nobel Peace Prize (an honor he would win the following year).

When we spoke, Carter was promoting his memoir “An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood.” It was a deeply personal and evocative work that traced his formative years on a Georgia farm. Written in clear, confident prose, the book captured the profound influence of the land and the people — especially the Black sharecroppers who helped raise him. “My childhood world was really shaped by Black women,” Carter wrote, crediting their guidance for instilling his moral compass.

In our interview, Carter spoke candidly about his approach to writing, revealing pride and humility. He described how he had always felt a “kind of frustration” about not having a strong liberal arts education. To make up for it, he immersed himself in studying and writing, even seeking guidance from poets like Miller Williams. “He was a very tough taskmaster,” Carter recalled. Williams assigned college-level literary textbooks and critiqued Carter’s early poems with unflinching honesty. “He could tell me a line or a word was inferior, but he never gave me a word instead,” Carter said. “That was the deal we had, and I stuck with it.”

Carter’s hard work paid off. His first book of poems, “Always a Reckoning,” was a personal exploration of themes like family, faith and social justice. With “An Hour Before Daylight,” he turned his focus to prose, crafting a memoir praised for vivid imagery and emotional depth. The New Yorker called it “an American classic,” and Carter took particular satisfaction in its reception. “I’m proud of the book,” he said, adding that he wrote “every word” himself.

The memoir is rich with sensory details and poignant reflections. Carter described growing up in rural Georgia with an intimacy that drew readers into his world. “My most persistent impression as a farm boy was of the earth,” he wrote. “There was a closeness, almost an immersion, in the sand, loam, and red clay that seemed natural and constant. The soil caressed my bare feet, and the dust was always boiling up from the dirt road that passed 50 feet from our front door.”

BLACK NEIGHBORS

Much of the book’s emotional weight comes from Carter’s relationships with his Black neighbors. One of the most significant figures in his childhood was Rachel Clark, a Black sharecropper who worked on his family’s farm. “Much more than my parents, she talked to me about the religious and moral values that shaped a person’s life, and I listened to her with acute attention,” Carter said. Until the age of 14, he had closer ties to his Black neighbors than to the white community.

As he grew older, societal norms began to create distance. “We still competed equally on the baseball field, fishing, or working in the field,” he wrote, “but I was not reluctant to take advantage by assuming, on occasion, the authority of my father.”

Carter’s reflections on segregation acknowledged the injustices of the era while also lamenting the loss of intimacy between Black and white communities in the wake of desegregation. “In the dramatic changes we have witnessed, something has been lost as well as gained,” he wrote. Speaking to me, he elaborated: “I think now with equal legal rights, people have decided voluntarily to segregate themselves geographically in housing areas, and also culturally there are some natural differences.” He cited church as an example, noting the contrasting styles of worship in predominantly Black and white congregations.

RACIAL DYNAMICS

Carter’s understanding of racial dynamics was shaped by his upbringing and later experiences. After returning to Plains following a career in the Navy, he supported the voting rights of local Black tenant farmers, even at personal and financial cost. In our conversation, he downplayed his activism, saying he had deliberately avoided inserting his future prominence into the narrative of “An Hour Before Daylight.” However, his refusal to join a local White Citizens Council — which led to a boycott of his peanut business — spoke volumes about his character.

Despite his achievements, Carter’s ambition as a writer remained evident. He spoke excitedly about a novel he was working on, set in the South during the Revolutionary War. Fiction, he said, allowed him a freedom that nonfiction did not. “The characters have taken on a life of their own, which is a surprise to me,” he said. “When you don’t have to worry about the facts and you can just kind of dream … it’s really delightful in a way.”

GROUNDED IN TRUTH

Yet Carter’s writing was always grounded in truth and a sense of purpose. He saw storytelling as a way to illuminate the complexities of human experience, whether through poetry, memoir or fiction. In Plains, Ga., where his heart had always been, he rose before dawn to write — a habit that reflected discipline and a lifelong curiosity.

Carter’s passing marks the end of a remarkable life. From his presidency and humanitarian work to literary pursuits, he exemplified integrity, compassion and an enduring drive to better himself and the world around him. Today, as we remember Jimmy Carter, we honor a man whose legacy will continue to inspire — through his deeds, his words and the unwavering spirit that carried him through a century of life.

Email: pmartin@adgnewsroom.com