JONESBORO, Ark. (2/27/23) – After leading the Arkansas State women's basketball team in scoring in the regular season, guard Izzy Higginbottom received a pair of honors in the Sun Belt Conference Postseason Awards announced Monday.

Higginbottom, averaging a team-best 15.5 points per game entering the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, was named the conference's Newcomer of the Year while also being tabbed Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference. She becomes A-State's first Newcomer of the Year honoree since Tanisha Johnson in 1999.

The Batesville, Ark., native has scored in double figures in 22 of 26 games played this season, including nine straight to end the regular season. Four of those outputs during the current nine-game stretch resulted in 24 points or more, with the sophomore averaging 19.9 points during that run. She opened the season with an 11-game streak of 10-plus points – the longest such season-opening streak since Jane Morrill did so in 15 straight to open the 2012-13 season.

While strong from the floor with a 39.1-percent shooting clip, Higginbottom has made opponents pay from the free-throw line, shooting a league-best 93.0 percent (53-57) from the line in league outings, shooting at an 89.1-percent clip overall and ranking 16th nationally.

She also enters Tuesday's first-round bout with ULM averaging 3.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds to go along with 1.9 steals per game. Higginbottom is the only player in the conference to rank inside the top 10 in points, assists and steals, while also being the first Red Wolf to score 400 or more points while dishing out 90-plus assists and grabbing 50-plus steals since Aundrea Gamble and Khadija Brown-Haywood did so in 2015-16.

A-State opens postseason play at 2 p.m. Tuesday as the No. 11 seed, taking on 14^th-seeded ULM inside the Pensacola Bay Center. The game will be broadcasted live on ESPN+, while the radio broadcast can be heard on FM Newstalk 102.1 KBTM/AM 1230 in Jonesboro.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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2023 SUN BELT CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AWARDS
 
Coach of the Year: Zenarae Antoine, Texas State 
Freshman of the Year: Kelsey Thompson, South Alabama 
Newcomer of the Year: Izzy Higginbottom, Arkansas State 
Player of the Year: Kiki Jefferson, James Madison 
Defensive Player of the Year: Emma Merriweather, ULM 
Sixth Woman of the Year: Peyton McDaniel, James Madison 
 
All-Conference Teams  
First Team 
Kiki Jefferson, James Madison 
Da'Nasia Hood, Texas State 
Terren Ward, Georgia Southern 
Domonique Davis, Southern Miss 
Aja Blount, Coastal Carolina 
 
Second Team 
Makayia Hallmon, Troy 
Roshala Scott, Marshall 
Kennedy Taylor, Texas State 
Amari Young, Old Dominion 
Izzy Higginbottom, Arkansas State 
 
Third Team 
Ja'Mia Hollings, Troy 
Lanay Wheaton, Louisiana 
Tai'Sheka Porchia, Troy 
Deaja Richardson, Georgia State 
Emma Merriweather, ULM