JONESBORO, Ark. (2/21/24) – Anna Griffin matched her season high with 21 points scored, but the Arkansas State women's basketball team ultimately dropped a 77-65 decision to Troy Wednesday night inside First National Bank Arena.
Griffin, who led all players in scoring and made a game-high four 3-pointers, sparked a game-ending 15-0 run by A-State (13-13, 6-9 SBC). However, it was not enough to overtake the Trojans (16-10, 12-3), who led by as much as 28 in the second half.
Izzy Higginbottom (13 points), Lauryn Pendleton (12) and Wynter Rogers (10) joined Griffin in double-figure scoring while Kendra Gillispie grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. The Red Wolves shot at a .353 clip from the field while making 10 treys and shooting .313 from beyond the arc.
Troy shot at a .397 mark, paced by Makayia Hallmon's 15 points, and won the rebounding battle 47-42.
After A-State scored the game's first four points, Troy went on a 19-1 run to lead 19-5. A trey by Mailyn Wilkerson halted the field-goal drought, cutting the deficit to 19-8 after the opening quarter.
Troy pushed its lead back out to 14 early in the second, but Higginbottom scored six straight points to pull the Red Wolves back within single digits. The Red Wolves trimmed it to six on a pair of scores by Pendleton and Rogers before Hollings answered with a trey. Troy led 37-30 at intermission after Griffin scored the final bucket of the half.
A-State cut it to five when Higginbottom opened the second half with a jumper, but the visitors surged ahead by 19 with an 18-4 run and led 55-39 after three. Troy's lead ballooned to as much as 28 with 4:39 to play, but the Red Wolves fought through the Trojan full-court press en route to scoring 18 of the final 20 points of the contest – including a game-ending 15-0 run.
The Red Wolves continue their four-game home stand Saturday, hosting Southern Miss at noon. The game will be broadcasted live on ESPN Plus, while the radio broadcast can be heard on The Ticket Radio Network stations 95.3 and 96.9, as well as the A-State Athletics mobile app.
