WBB Preview: Arkansas at #6 South Carolina

February 19, 2025

FAYETTEVILLE – The Razorback women’s basketball team (9-18, 2-10 SEC) will head to No. 6 South Carolina (23-3, 11-1 SEC) for a Thursday night battle in Columbia. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on SEC Network with Courtney Lyle (play-by-play) and Carolyn Peck (analyst) on the call.

Arkansas is coming off a 89-5o loss to Ole Miss last Thursday and a bye on Sunday. The Gamecocks faced No. 7 UConn on Sunday and snapped their 71-game home winning streak in an 87-58 loss.

Game Info

Opponent: #6 South Carolina (23-3, 11-1 SEC)
Tipoff: 6:00 p.m. CT
TV/Streaming: SEC Network
Radio: Listen | RSN Affiliates
Live Stats: Click here

Arkansas
Head Coach: Mike Neighbors
Record at Arkansas: 147-110 (8th season)
Career Record: 245-151 (12th)
Leading Scorer: Izzy Higginbottom (24.1 PPG)
Leading Rebounder: Vera Ojenuwa (6.9 RPG)

South Carolina
Head Coach: Dawn Staley
Record at South Carolina: 463-109 (17th season)
Career Record: 635-189 (25th)
Leading Scorer: Joyce Edwards (13.0 PPG)
Leading Rebounder: Chloe Kitts (7.5 RPG)

Game Notes

South Carolina and Arkansas are slated to compete for the 46th time in its series history. The Gamecocks hold a 27-18 advantage, and have won the past nine matchups. The two teams last met in February 2024 in Fayetteville, where then-No. 1 S.C. picked up a 98-61 win. Arkansas last won in Columbia on Feb. 14, 2010, 72-68.
Izzy Higginbottom has cemented herself as one of the best scorers in the NCAA through the first 27 games and ranks No. 5 in the country and first in the SEC in points per game (24.1) ahead of Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes (23.0). She has been the Hogs’ leading scorer in 22 games (Fairfield, Little Rock, UTA, UCLA, ORU, OSU, BGSU, BC, TTU, LIB, Troy, UCA, LSU, Texas, AUB, TEN, KEN, A&M, FLA, MSST, UGA, OM) this season
She also leads the team and the SEC in FT%, going 198-219 (.904) from the charity stripe. Higginbottom leads the SEC and ranks third in the NCAA in FTA (219) and leads the NCAA with 198 FTM. She’s been perfect from the line in 13 games (ETA&M, LR, UCLA, BGSU, SEMO, LU, Troy, LSU, Texas, VAN, FLA, MSST, OM) this season
In total points, Higginbottom ranks second in the NCAA with 651.
Higginbottom exploded for a then career-high 38 points against Boston College, then the most points by a Razorback since Chelsea Dungee dropped 41 against Auburn in 2019.
With the 38 points from the BC game and 18 points against SEMO, Higginbottom was named Co-SEC Player of the Week.
With 26 points against Tennessee, Higginbottom had 19 straight games in double figures and is the first Hog to accomplish the feat since Amber Ramirez did it in 2021-22. The streak ended after Higginbottom scored just five points against No. 19 Alabama on Jan. 19.
Higginbottom has the second most 25+ point games in the NCAA (14 games) behind Florida State’s Ta’Niya Latson.
Izzy picked up her second 30+ point game of the season after she dropped 36 points at Auburn on Jan. 9. It was tied for the second most points in an SEC game this season. It was then the seventh most by a Razorback player in an SEC game and was then the most since Erynn Barnum scored 37 points against Ole Miss.
Against No. 11 Kentucky, Higginbottom scored 32 points on the Wildcats and followed it up with a 33-point performance against Texas A&M on Jan. 30.
In the first game of February, against Florida, she scored her first 40 point game and became just the fourth Razorback to score 40 points in a game in program history and was four points shy of tying the single-game record. It’s tied for the fourth-most points in an SEC game this sesaon. She is one of 18 players in the NCAA to score at least 40 points in a game and one of 13 in the NCAA to score at least 40 points in a conference game this season. She’s also tied for the 12th-highest scoring game this year
On a league scale, Higginbottom ranks second in the SEC in scoring average (24.8) behind Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes (27.5) and ranks first in FT% at 91.0% (91-100). She also has one 40 point game, four 30+ point games and eight 25+ point games in league play. She leads the SEC in all three categories.
Sophomore guard Kiki Smith has established herself as a consistent scoring threat for Arkansas. The Topeka, Kan. native has 10+ points in 11 of 21 games and has started every appearance this season.
Smith paced Arkansas with 22 points in its first win of the season against East Texas A&M. She went 8-9 from FG and the lone miss was in the fourth quarter. Against Alabama, Smith scored a season and game high 23 points, going 8-15 from FG and 4-9 from 3.
Before being sidelined with an ankle injury, Kiki ranked ninth in the SEC and 90th in the NCAA with 47 3s
Freshman Phoenix Stotijn made her long awaited debut against Texas Tech. The Dutch native settled in in the second half and shot 3-6 from three and converted her lone free throw attempt. Stotijn finished with 12 points and played just over 20 minutes.
Vera Ojenuwa ranks No. 10 in the SEC with 185 rebounds.
The Hogs also added former Razorback soccer player Ella Rogers to the roster. Rogers, a Granville, Ohio native, was a first-team all district and first-team all-league guard for Granville High School. Rogers made her basketball debut on Feb. 3 against Florida.
According to WarrenNolan.com, Arkansas posts the 18th strongest schedule in the country. The only SEC teams ahead of the Hogs are top-ranked South Carolina, #3 Texas and #13 Tennessee 13 of Arkansas’ opponents appear in the SOS top 50: #1 SC, #3 Texas, #5 UCLA, #13 TENN, #21 LSU, #25 Texas A&M #26 OU, #28 AUB, #35 MIZZ, #38 TTU, #40 KEN, #42 ALA, #48 VAN The Hogs also have the fourth highest opponent win percentage in the SEC at .634 (407-235)
Arkansas captured its first SEC home win after a 72-51 win against Texas A&M. The 21-point victory is Arkansas’ largest in SEC play and the second largest margin this season behind the 27 point win over UTArlington. Mike Neighbors picked up his 50th SEC win at Arkansas. Izzy Higginbottom picked up her third SEC game with at least 30 points and led all scorers with 34 The senior also grabbed 10 rebounds and picked up her first career double-double. The Hogs shot an SEC-play best 48.1% (25- 52) from the field

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