Isabella “Izzy” Higginbottom is a once-in-a-generation basketball player – not for Arkansas State, but for all of college basketball. Currently the seventh leading scorer in the nation, Higginbottom buckets nearly 23 points per game (SBC leader), is second in the conference for assists (4.9 per game) and ranks sixth for field goal percentage (0.476). At just 5’7″, the junior guard is not the biggest woman on the court, but it doesn’t matter. She’s quick to the paint, is tough beneath the basket, has range on the perimeter, and she’s the Sun Belt version of Caitlin Clark, the 6’0″ guard for Iowa who has captured a celebrity status as women’s college basketball’s premier athlete.

Higginbottom was a star in Batesville when she committed to Missouri as the #20 ranked point guard in the 2021 ESPN/HoopGurlz National Recruiting Rankings. She’d average 6 points a game as a Mizzou freshman, earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors after scoring a game high 18 versus Idaho. But there was something appealing to Higginbottom about returning to Northeast Arkansas and creating something special with head coach Destinee Rogers. After the 2021-22 season, Higginbottom announced that she would transfer to Arkansas State.  “I know how much it means to me to get this opportunity to play for my region, my area and I’m so excited that it means that much to [Arkansas State] as well.”

She made her presence known her first season in Jonesboro, averaging 16 points per game while playing with a bum foot. Her efforts gained her recognition as the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year Award and place on the all conference second team.

Higginbottom has taken her game to the next level – and possibly several levels more. Twice this season, she’s scored 35 points, the latest at home against South Alabama. Even as teams have begun to double-team and box her in, Higginbottom appears to be unstoppable, punishing the hard fouls by nailing a conference leading 94% of her free throws.

Part of her success can be attributed to her teammates, most notably 2022-23 SBC Freshman of the Year Lauryn Pendleton, the Little Rock Central High product who provides a second front of trouble for opposing teams by depositing 14 points per game. With Pendleton serving as a potent scoring threat in her own right, the two comprise an Arkansas-grown battery that is difficult to defend.

Higginbottom and Pendleton have become much-watch basketball in Jonesboro. They play with a mixture of elegance and grit – both fundamentally sound and creative in their playmaking. The Red Wolves host Old Dominion this Saturday. One would do well to see this once-in-a-lifetime duo play in person.

PHOTO CREDIT: CARLA WEHMEYER, A-STATE ATHLETICS