JONESBORO, Ark. (12/17/23) – Mailyn Wilkerson led four players in double figures on Sunday afternoon, as the Arkansas State women's basketball team topped in-state rival Little Rock 74-59 inside First National Bank Arena.
Wilkerson dropped a career-high 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. A-State (6-3) shot a blistering 58.3 percent (14-24) from the perimeter en route to its first victory over the Trojans (0-9) since Feb. 28, 2020. The win snapped a five-game skid in the series to Little Rock.
Anna Griffin joined Wilkerson in double-digit scoring with a season-high 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting (4-7 3FG), while Izzy Higginbottom and Lauryn Pendleton added 10 apiece. Higginbottom's total came after scoring just three points in the first half, and gave her 10 or more points in 21 consecutive games dating back to last season. The Batesville, Ark., native also handed out six assists with five rebounds.
A-State out-rebounded Little Rock 36-24, led by 10 from Melodie Kapinga and nine from Wynter Rogers.
The contest started in expected fashion – a defensive battle – as Little Rock scored 10 points off six takeaways in the opening quarter. Both sides exchanged 3-point leads before Wilkerson put A-State ahead 13-12 with a 4-point play. The visitors answered on a jumper by Faith Lee to hold a 14-13 lead after one.
Little Rock limited the Red Wolves to just one field goal – a trey by Crislyn Rose – and stretched their lead out to as much as seven midway through the second quarter. Rogers knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:18 left in the half to make it 25-24 before Little Rock leading scorer Leilani Wimbish-Gay (15 points) hit a pair of free thros to make it 27-24 with under two minutes remaining.
Momentum then turned to the hosts, with Arkansas State closing the half on a 7-0 run, capped by a wide-open trey from Griffin to send the Scarlet and Black into intermission with a 31-27 lead.
A-State then turned to its offense in the second half, shooting 54.2 percent in the final 20 minutes, including a 66.7-percent clip from deep. The Red Wolves' run continued after the half, as they scored 10 of the first 12 points to take a double-digit lead that would not be erased.
Pendleton then buried a corner trey with 1:13 to go in the third, making it 53-38, before Little Rock scored five straight to end the period to cut it to 10.
Neither team scored for almost three minutes to open the final quarter until Rogers scored inside with 7:12 to go, but the Trojans once again worked the deficit down to 10 at the foul line. Higginbottom successfully converted a 4-point play, while Wilkerson went 3-for-3 at the free-throw line inside the final minute to give A-State its largest lead of the day – up 17 (71-54) with 47 seconds left.
Griffin capped A-State's scoring with her fourth trey with 11 seconds to go before Little Rock's Mesi Triplett scored before time expired.
NEXT UP
Arkansas State continues its five-game home stand on Thursday afternoon, hosting UT Martin. Tip-off against the Skyhawks is slated for 2 p.m. on ESPN+. The radio broadcast can also be heard on 95.3/96.9 The Ticket Radio Network and the A-State Red Wolves mobile app.
Season tickets are available for purchase at AStateRedWolves.com/tickets or by calling (870) 972-ASU1.
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.
