FAYETTEVILLE — Izzy Higginbottom sent a text message to her teammates on the University of Arkansas women’s basketball team Saturday night.
The note contained a list of things she felt the team needed to work on from its 94-71 loss Thursday night to Oral Roberts. First on the list was better energy.
Her message resonated.
Higginbottom played with passion and excelled against her former team as Arkansas found its defense in the second half to defeat Arkansas State 76-60 on Sunday afternoon at Walton Arena.
“I personally knew how much this game meant to her,” Arkansas forward Jenna Lawrence said of Higginbottom. “Obviously, you want to beat the team that you’ve recently been on, so I just think she was really amped up — the most amped I’ve seen her for a game.
“I’m just really proud of how she performed and how she was a leader on and off the court.”
Higginbottom, a 5-7 transfer guard who played two seasons with the Red Wolves, filled the stat sheet with 15 points, a career-high 8 rebounds and 5 assists.
“When the other team shoots threes, they become speed rebounds,” Arkansas Coach Mike Neighbors said. “I thought she dug a bunch of those out, and then that got us going on transition, too. She was out in front of the break leading it, getting to the foul line and created a couple of good catch and shoot looks for (teammates).”
The Razorbacks (4-3) snapped a two-game losing streak and won their second game against an in-state opponent this year. Arkansas won 71-60 in overtime at Arkansas-Little Rock on Nov. 11.
“It stinks to lose any day,” Neighbors said, “but especially if you get on a little bit of a streak, it’s easy to get (down). So, I thought it was important for us to stay above .500. You feel different when you win. I don’t know if we played any better yet. I’ll have to go home and watch, but I think we did.”
After giving up 38 points before halftime, the Razorbacks held the Red Wolves to 22 points on 8-of-36 (22%) shooting in the second half.
Arkansas State (2-3) went seven-plus minutes without a field goal between the third and fourth quarters. That stretch proved decisive as a 38-35 halftime deficit for Arkansas turned into a double-digit lead for most of the final quarter.
“We started getting all the 50-50 balls,” Neighbors said. “Before that, it was about (half). I think it was like 90-10 in that third quarter. The effort was much better. I thought our focus was a lot better.”
Arkansas State entered on a two-game win streak, which included a 100-96 victory at Arizona State. The Red Wolves fell to 3-9 all-time against the Razorbacks, last winning in the 2005 Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
A fast-paced, back-and-forth first quarter saw two lead changes and runs of 6-0 and 5-0 that helped Arkansas State take a 23-19 lead into the second quarter. The Razorbacks committed six turnovers in the period that resulted in 10 points for the Red Wolves.
Arkansas took a 33-27 with 3:32 remaining in the first half before Arkansas State closed with an 11-2 run. Kennedie Montue beat the shot clock with a three-pointer to give Arkansas State a 38-35 lead just before halftime.
Fatigue appeared to play a factor in the first half, in which Arkansas was outscored 26-2 in bench points. Arkansas State Coach Destinee Rogers made mass substitutions throughout the game and had 10 players log minutes.
Arkansas forward Vera Ojenuwa, who put up a double-double with a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, scored 12 points before halftime.
The Razorbacks took a 39-38 lead early in the third quarter on a jumper by Kiki Smith, who finished with 15 points. The teams went back and forth for a while before Lawrence connected on her first three-pointer of the game to put Arkansas up for good at 46-43 with 4:01 remaining in the third. Lawrence finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.
Arkansas State ran a full-court press for most of the game and Arkansas fared better against it as time went on. The Razorbacks found Ojenuwa alone under the basket on multiple press breaks.
“For two days straight, we worked on just breaking their press and making sure we see Vera wide open,” Lawrence said. “Because the way their press was, they put all of their players in front and left Vera wide open in the back.”
As the Razorbacks built their double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, Higginbottom drove past defenders for three fast-break layups.
Arkansas finished the game on a 12-4 run, including six unanswered, to close the door.
The Razorbacks shot 30 of 67 (45%), including 7 of 27 (26%) from three-point range, and 9 of 12 (75%) from the free-throw line.
Arkansas State went 23 of 74 (31%), 9 of 35 (26%) and 5 of 7 (71%) in those categories, respectively.
Anna Griffin led the Red Wolves with 16 points and 8 rebounds, followed by Montue, who made 3 three-pointers and scored 13 points. Both Griffin and Montue played off the bench, while Wynter Rogers was Arkansas State’s highest-scoring starter with 8 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 4 blocks.
Arkansas State’s starters outside of Rogers — Crislyn Rose, Zyion Shannon, Kyanna Morgan and Shaunae Brown — combined to go 4 of 36 from the field and scored eight points. Bella Weary and Mimi McCollister provided 7 and 6 points, respectively, off the bench for the Red Wolves.
Arkansas won the rebound battle 48-42 and had a season-high 16 assists.
Six Razorbacks scored at least eight points: Ojenuwa (20), Higginbottom (15), Smith (15), Lawrence (8), Carly Keats (8) and Danika Galea (8). Karley Johnson and Lawrence led the Razorbacks with three steals apiece.
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