PENSACOLA, Fla. (2/28/23) – The Arkansas State women's basketball team used a big third quarter to pull away from ULM on its way to a 76-65 victory Tuesday at the Pensacola Bay Center in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
 
A-State (12-18), the No. 11 seed, won its first game at the Sun Belt Conference Championship since 2017 while collecting its fourth victory over its last five outings.  The Red Wolves will now face No. 6 Georgia Southern tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. in the tournament's second round.
 
Arkansas State was led by four players scoring in double figures, including sophomore guard Izzy Higginbottom with a game-high 19 points.  The Sun Belt's Newcomer of the Year, Higginbottom finished with at least 19 points for the fifth consecutive game.
 
Mailyn Wilkerson added 16 points for the Red Wolves, while Lauryn Pendleton and Anna Griffin finished with 13 and 10, respectively.
 
The Red Wolves finished with a .426 field goal percentage in comparison to the Warhawks' .382 mark.  Although ULM (7-23) held a 44-37 advantage on boards, A-State had three fewer turnovers and turned 14 ULM miscues into 16 points. 
 
The first half featured two ties and two lead changes prior to Arkansas State taking a 35-29 lead into the break.  The third quarter saw the Red Wolves outscore the Warhawks 27-13 before their lead swelled to as much as 24 points in the fourth quarter.
 
ULM also had four players score in double figures, led by Aasia Sam and Emma Merriweather with 16 points each.
 
A-State's second-round game tomorrow against Georgia Southern will appear on ESPN+, and the live radio broadcast can be heard via stations 95.3 FM and 96.9 FM The Ticket Radio Network.