JONESBORO, Ark. — The Little Rock women's basketball team went toe to toe with in-state rival Arkansas State on Sunday, with the two teams separated by just four points at the break. But the Red Wolves' three-point shooting and an alarmingly wide margin at the free throw line helped the hosts finish the day with a 74-59 victory at First National Bank Arena.
Arkansas State (6-3) snapped a five-game losing streak in the series, connecting on 14-of-24 shots from long range (58 percent) and converting 20-of-26 opportunities at the charity stripe. Little Rock (0-9) pressured the Red Wolves into several first half turnovers for scoring chances that made the game close, but that aggressive play was turned against them in the second half as the Trojans were whistled for 23 personal fouls.
Leilani Wimbish-Gay led the Trojans with a career-high 15 points and pulled down six rebounds,
Faith Lee added 14 points and three assists,
Jaiyah Harris-Smith tossed in 11 points and dished out a season-high eight assists. Little Rock shot 40 percent (22-of-55) from the floor and made all 11 of their free throws. Mailyn Wilkerson led the Red Wolves with a game-high 22 points, Annaliese Griffin added 16 and Lauryn Pendleton had 10. Izzy Higginbottom – who entered as the nation's No. 4 scorer at 24.4 points per game – was held to just 10 points on five attempts. She did dish out six assists and grab five rebounds.
Little Rock put together a 6-0 run to take a 12-9 lead in the opening frame and held on to lead 14-13 after the first 10 minutes. The Trojans forced six turnovers in the period and held a 17-8 advantage in shot attempts. Lee scored eight of her 14 in the quarter on 4-of-6 shooting. Little Rock led 21-16 at the second quarter media timeout, and Wimbish-Gay would snap a five-minute scoreless drought with a put-back to go ahead 25-19. Foul trouble became an issue late in the second as both
Mesi Triplett and
Jayla Brooks had picked up three fouls before halftime.
The offensive woes continued, and this time A-State was able to take advantage, reeling off seven straight points to end the half while Little Rock went without a field goal over the last three minutes before halftime. The Red Wolves used another 7-0 run to take their first double-digit lead (41-29) with 6:16 left in the third then went ahead by 15 at the 1:08 mark. Little Rock scored the final five points of the period to trail by 10 heading into the fourth (53-43). The Trojans would get no closer than 10 through the final period.
Little Rock will travel to New Orleans early this week to compete at the Tulane Holiday Tournament. The Trojans face Tulane at noon Wednesday, then take on either Duquesne or Maine on Thursday.
