Arkansas 88, Northeastern State 54 — Final
Arkansas 77, Northeastern State 51 — 4Q, 4:53
Izzy Higginbottom is nearing a double-double. She will be at the free throw line to try and complete a three-point play after a timeout. Higginbottom has 25 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds.
Arkansas 68, Northeastern State 39 — End 3Q
The score is lopsided but there have been plenty of areas of concern for the Razorbacks, most notably on the glass.
Arkansas 56, Northeastern State 32 — 3Q, 4:58
The River Hawks have outscored the Razorbacks 6-5 since halftime.
Arkansas scored on a layup by Izzy Higginbottom and three-pointer by Jenna Lawrence. Northeastern State continues to get some easy looks inside, an area of concern for the Razorbacks.
The Higginbottom-Lawrence duo has combined to score 35 points for Arkansas.
Arkansas 51, Northeastern State 26 — Halftime
Jenna Lawrence made a three-pointer with 1.4 seconds left in the half through contact. She couldn’t complete a four-point play with a free throw make, but her make was a good note for the Razorbacks to enter the locker room on.
Arkansas shot 18 of 33 (54.5%) from the floor, 6 of 11 (54.5%) from three-point range and 9 of 15 (60%) from the foul line.
Northeastern State was 10 of 34 (29.4%) from the field and 5 of 20 (25%) from behind the arc.
The Razorbacks have plenty of things to work on, mainly on the glass. They gave up 7 offensive rebounds.
Arkansas 45, Northeastern State 21 — 2Q, 4:03
Maryn Archer came off the bench and scored 4 points off layups to help extend the lead. Vera Ojenuwa also scored 4 points since the last timeout.
There have been some clear concerns for the Razorbacks rebounding. Northeastern State has racked up 6 offensive boards and trails in the overall rebounding battle only 18-14.
If the Razorbacks are going to hold their own against Division I teams, they will need to rebound better than they are tonight. Some of the boards the River Hawks are getting simply look too easy.
Arkansas 36, Northeastern State 16 — End 1Q
Izzy Higginbottom put on a clinic in her first 10 minutes with an Arkansas uniform on. She scored 18 points and had 5 assists and 2 rebounds.
Higginbottom was 6-of-7 (86%) from the floor and made all 5 free throws she took. Her body control and deceptiveness with the ball in her hands has been impressive.
Carly Keats (8 points) and Jenna Lawrence (6) were the Razorbacks’ next two leading scorers. Arkansas was 5-of-8 (62.5%) from three-point range.
Arkansas 27, Northeastern State 13 — 1Q, 2:18
The Razorbacks went on a quick 12-0 run to create some separation and forced a Northeastern State timeout.
Izzy Higginbottom and Carly Keats combined for all the scoring during the run. Higginbottom made a three-pointer, layup and two free throws. Keats made a three-pointer and two foul shots.
Higginbottom has a game-high 11 points.
Arkansas 15, Northeastern State 13 — 1Q, 4:18
Not a ton of defense early on from either side. The two teams have combined for six three-pointers.
The River Hawks took a 3-0 lead on a three-pointer 27 seconds into the game by Emily Weathers.
Izzy Higginbottom assisted Vera Ojenuwa on a make inside and the next trip down Jenna Lawrence hit a three-pointer to give the Razorbacks a 5-3 lead.
It’s been back-and-forth since then. A layup by Northeastern State’s Courtney Lee was countered with Higginbottom driving left and using good body control for a layup.
Higginbottom made another tough shot when she drove right, hung in the air and made a jumper off glass. Carly Keats made a three-pointer to put Arkansas up 12-8, but the River Hawks went on a 5-3 run before the media timeout.
Lawrence leads the Razorbacks with 6 points. Higginbottom has 4, Keats 3 and Ojenuwa 2.
Starting lineups
Arkansas
G — Izzy Higginbottom
G — Carly Keats
F — Jada Bates
F — Jenna Lawrence
F — Vera Ojenuwa
Northeastern State
G — Reese Shirey
G — Alex Hill
F — Courtney Lee
F — Emily Weathers
F — Annaston Brown
Pregame
Tonight serves as the first chance to see a new-look Arkansas women’s basketball team play outside competition.
The Razorbacks are scheduled to tip off against Northeastern State at 5 p.m. inside Bud Walton Arena. There will not be any live stream broadcast of the game.
An interesting tidbit for this game: Reese Shirey, the daughter of Arkansas women’s basketball legend and the program’s director of operations Amber Shirey, is a freshman guard for the River Hawks.
She will be playing against a former high school teammate, Jenna Lawrence, who is a sophomore for for the Razorbacks.
It is the first game for both teams. Arkansas does not have any additional exhibition games scheduled, while Northeastern State will play at Wichita State and Oral Roberts before beginning its season.
Arkansas is 17 days away from its regular season opener Nov. 4 against Fairfield.
