No. 11 Kentucky tops Arkansas 89-69 despite Higginbottom netting 32 points

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Arkansas guard Izzy Higginbottom led all scorers with 32 points in the Hogs’ 89-69 loss at No. 11 Kentucky (17-2, 6-1 SEC) on Sunday.

Higginbottom returned to double figures for the first time in two games and notched her second SEC game with at least 30 points.

The Wildcats, led by guard Georgia Amoore with 19 points, did not trail for the entire game and got off to an 11-0 start and outscored Arkansas 29-10 in the first quarter. The Hogs clawed back once Higginbottom got her team on the board, followed by back-to-back three pointers from junior Carly Keats. Kentucky answered each basket and closed out the first 10 minutes on a 12-0 run.

The Razorbacks outscored the Cats 18-15 and went on their largest run, 8-0, thanks to three straight turnovers by UK. Higginbottom went 4-4 from the free throw line to re-enter double figures. Both teams went 5-17 (29.4%) from the field for the quarter.

Despite losing the third quarter 33-25, Arkansas showed life with 14 points from Higginbottom and threes from Jenna Lawrence and Kiki Smith. Lawrence finished the game 3-5 from 3 and 5-8 from the field in her best performance since her 21 point game against Bowling Green in November. Kentucky went 7-10 from beyond the arc in the quarter, including a buzzer-beater from Dazia Lawrence, held on to a 24-point lead.

The Hogs held the Wildcats to a game low 12 points in the fourth quarter and held a 4 point advantage to cut Kentucky’s lead to 20. The home team did not make a field goal for the final 3:40 of the game.

Double Figures

Arkansas: Higginbottom (32), Keats (14), Lawrence (13)
Kentucky: Amoore (19), Clara Strack (17 & 10), Dazia Lawrence (14), Amelia Hassett (14) and Teonni Key (13)

Up Next

Arkansas will return to Fayetteville and face Texas A&M (10-8, 3-3 SEC) on Thursday, Jan. 30. That game will be streamed live on SEC Network Plus.

Photo courtesy of Razorbacks Communications