JONESBORO, Ark. (12/30/23) - Arkansas State women's basketball (7-4, 1-0 SBC) jumped out to multiple double-digit leads and held off a fierce comeback effort from Coastal Carolina (6-8, 0-1 SBC) en route to an 81-73 victory in the conference opener on Saturday afternoon at First National Bank Arena.
The Red Wolves fell behind 5-0 to start the game, but the offense eventually found its groove, resulting in a 19-16 lead to end the first quarter. Izzy Higginbottom powered the offense with 13 points during the opening period.
After allowing the Chanticleers to get two points at the free throw line to start the second, A-State went on a 14-0 run that was reinforced by back-to-back 3-pointers from Lauryn Pendleton and Mailyn Wilkerson, respectively. With the score 35-18, Coastal responded with a 15-2 run of their own to close the gap as the Scarlet and Black entered the half ahead 37-33.
The Red Wolves out-rebounded the Chanticleers 26-16 in the first two quarters with 12 coming from the offensive glass. Despite keeping pace with A-State, the Chanticleers shot 0-for-9 from deep in the first half.
A-State opened the third quarter with a 14-5 run to extend the lead to 13 points. Once again, Coastal Carolina responded with a run of their own, outscoring A-State 17-7 to get back in the game.
Coastal shot 67 percent (8-12) from the field and 100 percent (3-3) from deep in the quarter, compared to 53 (10-19) percent from the field and 50 (3-6) percent from deep for the Red Wolves. Despite a strong effort from the Chanticleers, Arkansas State held a 64-58 advantage going into the final quarter.
Coastal Carolina cut the lead to 71-70 with 2:51 left, but the Red Wolves pulled away due to late-game heroics from Wynter Rogers, who recorded four points and a crucial steal that contributed to a 10-3 run that closed the door on the comeback bid.
Higginbottom led the team in scoring with 25 points, shooting 9-of-17 (53 percent) from the field and 2-for-4 (50 percent) from 3-point range. Pendleton recorded her fifth career double-double and her first of the season after netting 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Cheyenne Forney also recorded her highest point total as a Red Wolf with 12 on the day and finished with a plus-minus of plus-23. On the flip side, Coastal Carolina had four players score 10-plus points with Arin Freeman leading the way at 17.
Overall, Arkansas State shot 42 percent (20-66) from the field and 33 percent (7-21) from 3-point range. The team out-rebounded their opponent 42-33 with a season-high 19 boards coming on the offensive side of the court.
NEXT UP
Arkansas State will hit the road for the first time in over a month to take on the James Madison and Marshall. A-State will meet JMU on Thursday, January 4 with tip-off set for 6:00 p.m. (CT) before taking on Marshall at 12:00 p.m. (CT) on Saturday, January 6. Both games will be on ESPN+ and the radio broadcast can be heard on 95.3/96.9 The Ticket Radio Network and 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.
