JONESBORO, Ark. (1/26/23) – The Arkansas State women's basketball team owned a 10-point lead at halftime, but Southern Miss' second-half surge proved to be the difference, as the Red Wolves fell 68-59 Thursday inside First National Bank Arena.
The Red Wolves (6-14, 1-8 SBC) set the tone in the first half, coughing up just two turnovers and scoring 11 points off 10 takeaways, but the Lady Eagles (14-6, 7-2) turned up the pressure and forced 15 turnovers in the second half en route to the comeback win.
Leilani Augmon and Lauryn Pendleton scored 14 points apiece to lead A-State in scoring. Mailyn Wilkerson drained four of the Red Wolves' nine 3-point baskets to account for 12 points off the bench, while Izzy Higginbottom added eight points and six assists. Melodie Kapinga corralled eight rebounds, including four on the offensive glass, giving her eight consecutive games with four or more offensive boards.
A-State shot 37.5 percent (21-56) from the floor and 39.1 percent (9-23) from the perimeter.
Southern Miss' Domonique Davis led all players with 16 points and 10 rebounds, with all of her points coming in the second half. Melyia Grayson added 13 points and nine boards, with Jacorriah Bracey and Lani Cornfield contributing 11 apiece.
USM won the rebounding battle 40-29 and shot 38.8 percent (19-49) from the field.
Both teams battled back and forth in the first quarter, seeing four ties and a pair of lead changes. Higginbottom's pullup jumper with 3 seconds remaining tied up the contest at 15-all after one.
A-State outpaced the Lady Eagles 17-7 in the second quarter, forcing seven turnovers and finding success from long range. The Red Wolves held USM scoreless for over four minutes to open up a nine-point lead with a 7-0 run before the visitors answered with a jumper by Grayson. Pendleton hit a trey with a minute to go in the half to give the hosts a 32-22 halftime lead.
A pair of Augmon free throws to open the third gave A-State its largest lead of the night, up 12, but a 9-0 run within the final two minutes of the period cut it to one score. The Red Wolves held a 42-39 edge entering the fourth quarter.
Southern Miss continued to be aggressive on the defensive end, not allowing an offensive rebound in the second half, and remaining within two scores until a 3-point play by Davis put the Lady Eagles ahead 50-48 with 5:14 to go. That lead ballooned to as much as nine, despite a pair of treys within the final minute to cut it to six.
NEXT UP
A-State resumes its home stand Saturday, hosting Marshall (11-9, 4-5). Tip-off against the Thundering Herd inside First National Bank Arena is set for 2 p.m. CT on ESPN+. The radio broadcast can be heard live via the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network station 95.3 and 96.9 The Ticket Radio Network.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on the A-State women's basketball program, follow @AStateWB on Twitter and @astatewbb on Instagram, while also liking the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/RedWolvesWBB.
