Little Rock heads to Jonesboro for Sunday rivalry matchup with Arkansas State

GAME 9 - at ARKANSAS STATE
Date/Time	Sunday, Dec. 17 - 2:00 p.m.
Location	Jonesboro, Ark.
Arena	First National Bank Arena
Records	Little Rock (0-8, 0-0 OVC) Arkansas State (5-3, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Watch	ESPN+
Listen	Sports Animal 920 AM
Live Stats	lrtrojans.com
Notes	Little Rock | Arkansas State

In-state and former longtime conference rivals meet for the 81^st time Sunday when the Little Rock women's basketball team enters Jonesboro for a matinee matchup with Arkansas State. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 pm from First National Bank Arena and the game can be streamed on ESPN+ and head locally on Sports Animal 920 AM.

The Red Wolves (5-3) own a 41-29 advantage in the all-time series, but the Trojans (0-8) have won five straight meetings, 12 of the last 14, and a 19-5 record against Arkansas State over the last 10 years. During that span, Little Rock is 12-0 at home but 7-5 on the road and the two teams have split the last four meetings in Jonesboro. Last season, the Trojans topped Arkansas State 60-44 at home with Tia Harvey and Nikki Metcalfe each scoring 17 points for Little Rock.

Little Rock continues to battle through one of the toughest schedules in the nation, ranking 17^th nationally in strength of schedule. On Thursday, the Trojans faced the highest-scoring offense in the nation at Murray State, dropping a 98-79 decision to the Racers. On the upside, the Trojans set season high totals for points (79), shooting percentage (54.8%), and players scoring in double figures (4).

Faith Lee scored a team-high 18 points, Jaiyah Harris-Smith matched her career high with 16 points for the second straight outing, Tia Harvey added 15 points in just her second game of the season, and Mesi Triplett scored a career-high 10 points. Harris-Smith also chipped in seven assists and five rebounds, while Triplett had four rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

Little Rock will look to slow down Izzy Higginbottom, who enters the game averaging 24.8 points per game, the fourth-highest scoring average in the nation. The Batesville, Ark. native leads an offense putting up 71.5 points per contest with personal shooting splits of 48/44/90. Lauryn Pendleton gives the Red Wolves a lethal guard combo with 13 points per game on splits of 45/42/81 percent. Higginbottom scored a career-high 35 points Thursday during Arkansas State's 82-78 overtime win over North Alabama.
 

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