Preview – Hogs Face First Road Test in Jonesboro

kylie magar November 16, 2023

FAYETTEVILLE – The Arkansas women’s basketball team (3-0) is on the road for the first time this season, getting set to play at Arkansas State (1-1) in front of an expected sold-out crowd at First National Bank Arena on Friday, Nov. 17. The game will tipoff at 7 p.m. and broadcast on ESPN+.

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Friday, Nov. 17
Time: 7 p.m.
Opponent: Arkansas State
Location: First National Bank Arena (Jonesboro, Ark.)
Watch: ESPN+ (Broadcast link HERE)
Listen: Razorback Sports Network from Learfield
Arkansas Game Notes
Arkansas State Game Notes
Live Stats

STORYLINES

Arkansas commenced the season 3-0 for the second consecutive year, fourth in the last five seasons, after a 77-36 win over Little Rock on Tuesday
Little Rock is the first of four in-state opponents the Hogs are set to face during the non-conference season. Arkansas took care of business in the first test against the Trojans to elevate their record vs. in-state schools to 13-0 since the ban of playing one another in the regular season was lifted in 2019
Arkansas has its first road test of the season and will be doing it in front of an expected sold-out crowd at Arkansas State on Friday night
The Hogs will look to start the year 4-0 for the third time in the last five years and for the second straight season
This year marks the third straight year Arkansas is playing all four other DI schools in the state. Since the revival of in-state matchups in 2019-20 (Hogs just played Little Rock that year), Arkansas is now 13-0 vs. in-state opponents
Taliah Scott leads Arkansas in scoring with 24.0 points per game, tallying 72 points in her first three contests in the college game. Her 29 points vs. ULM was the most scored by a freshman in their Arkansas debut. She is the SEC’s leading scorer and is fourth in the NCAA among those who have played in 3+ games thus far
Saylor Poffenbarger paces the team on the boards with 13.7 per game. She pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds, which was one shy of tying the individual game record vs. ULM. The 21 rebounds is tied for the most by an NCAA player this year. She leads the league in rebounds and defensive boards (12.5)
Samara Spencer has a team’s most assists with 14 through three games. She is the leading returning scorer from last year, having averaged 14.4 points per game and also pacing the team with 154 assists. Her 264 career assists is No. 19 on the all-time career list
After missing last season, Sasha Goforth has not missed a beat, logging a team’s best 10 blocks, including 3+ in all three games this season. Her 76 blocks is the sixth most among active players in the league. She is tied with Poffenbarger for a team’s most five steals a piece
The Hogs were picked to finish sixth and seventh in the SEC Preseason Media and Coaches Poll, respectively
Fifth-year Makayla Daniels was selected on the All-SEC Preseason Second Team, as chosen by the league’s coaches. She is averaging 11.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Her 1,498 career points is the No. 10 most points scored by an Arkansas WBB player in school history
With another start, Daniels will take sole possession of second place for most career starts at Arkansas with 126

SCOUTING ARKANSAS STATE

The Red Wolves have commenced the season 1-1, coming off a victory over Northern Illinois, 75-62, in the Mid-American Conference/Sun Belt Conference Challenge
A-State was projected to finish in the middle of the pack at eighth in the SBC Preseason Coaches Poll
Natural State native Izzy Higginbottom was chosen as a Preseason All-SBC First Team selection. She logged 16.0 points per game with 98 assists and 53 steals last season
A-State finished last season 13-19, 6-12 in the SBC, making it to the quarterfinals before losing to Southern Miss, 79-72
Through two games this season, Higginbottom leads the way with 26.5 points per game with seven assists and four steals
Anna Griffin paces the team with 8.5 rebounds per game and two blocks
Destinee Rogers is in her second full season as the Red Wolves’ head coach, taking over the helm after serving as the interim head coach late in the year during the 2021-22 campaign
This is Rogers’ first head coaching gig, previously serving as an assistant/associate head coach at A-State

HISTORY AGAINST THE RED WOLVES

Arkansas holds the 7-3 edge over Arkansas State
The Hogs hold a two-game winning streak over the Red Wolves, entering the third straight season the teams square off after the series was brought back
Arkansas is 3-3 in Jonesboro, last beating the Red Wolves at their arena in 2021 in a 94-71 victory
In last season’s matchup, Arkansas defeated Arkansas State, 77-63. Five Hogs reached double digits in scoring, led by Spencer’s 19 points and four assists. Maryam Dauda logged 11 points and eight boards off the bench

LAST TIME OUT

The Hogs handled business defensively against Little Rock on Tuesday night in a 77-36 victory. Holding LR to 36 points was the least amount of points the Hogs have given up to the Trojans in the series, as well as lowest point total Arkansas has held an opponent to since last February against Missouri (W, 63-33)
Twelve players saw time on the court with 11 tallying points on the stat sheet
Scott led the Hogs for the third straight game, registering 18 points and three boards with a +32 efficiency
Dauda enjoyed a career-high 15 points with seven boards
Poffenbarger finished just shy of a double-double with 12 points and eight boards with two blocks
Carly Keats knocked down four 3-pointers to tally 14 points
Goforth was excellent defensively and notched a season-high four blocks
Spencer had five assists and zero turnovers

UPCOMING

The Hogs will play in Bud Walton for one last game in November, hosting Central Arkansas on Monday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. This game will serve as the team’s Native American Heritage Appreciation Month celebration and will be broadcast on SECN+.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about Arkansas Women’s Basketball, follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @RazorbackWBB and on Facebook at Facebook.com/RazorbackWBB. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel, “Kickin’ It In The Neighborhood” for an inside look at the Razorback women’s basketball program and check out The Neighborhood podcasts at CoachNeighbors.com.