AKRON, Ohio (2/10/24) – Arkansas State women’s basketball (12-10, 6-6 SBC) used an overwhelming offensive attack to roll past Akron (8-14, 3-8 MAC) by a score of 81-67 on Saturday afternoon at James A. Rhodes Arena.
 
Izzy Higginbottom finished as the team leader in scoring with 25 points while Lauryn Pendleton (20) and Anna Griffin (19) also reached double-digits. Higginbottom also led the team in assists with six while Pendleton tied with Kendra Gillispie for the most rebounds at six.
 
As a team, A-State shot 32-for-60 (53 percent) from the field, 7-for-19 (37 percent) from beyond the arc, and 10-for-13 (77 percent) from the free-throw line. The Scarlet and Black won the turnover battle 17-10, but were out-rebounded by Akron 45-26, including a 23-5 disparity on the offensive glass.
 
The Red Wolves used a strong start to jump ahead 12-5 at the 5:42 mark, but the Zips responded with a 14-6 run to take a 19-18 advantage into the second. A-State was out-rebounded 11-3 and committed seven fouls in the opening period.
 
The Scarlet and Black found their rhythm in the second, using a 10-0 run to retake the lead before claiming their first double-digit advantage with 2:32 remaining. A-State outscored Akron 22-9 after the 6:09 mark and went into halftime ahead 46-33.
 
The Red Wolves shot 19-for-29 (66 percent) from the field and 4-for-9 (44 percent) from 3-point range in the first half. Despite leading by 13 at the break, the Zips established control in the paint, out-rebounding A-State 17-1 on the offensive glass and 26-12 overall.
 
The solid shooting for the Scarlet and Black carried over to the second half as they expanded the lead to 20 points with 3:48 remaining. Akron shot 7-for-12 (58 percent) in the quarter, but the Red Wolves were unbothered as they took a 66-49 lead into the final period.
 
The Zips managed to cut the lead to 12 after going on a late 14-4 run, but A-State would prevent them from cutting it further. The Scarlet and Black won by 15 points in their first non-conference road win this season and recorded their largest margin of victory in an away game this year.
 
Higginbottom scored her 1,000^th point as a Red Wolf during the win, making her the 27^th player in A-State history to accomplish the feat.
 
NEXT UP
Arkansas State returns to the Southeast for a conference matchup against Southern Miss on Thursday, February 15 in Hattiesburg. Tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m. on ESPN+, and the Radio broadcast can be heard on 95.3/96.9 The Ticket Radio Network along with the A-State Red Wolves mobile app.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on the A-State women’s basketball program, follow @AStateWB on Twitter/X and @astatewbb on Instagram, while also liking the team’s Facebook page at Facebook.com/RedWolvesWBB.