Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
State-record 57
Batesville’s Isabella Higginbottom scored an Arkansas girls state tournament record 57 points to lead the Lady Pioneers to an 89-77 victory over Little Rock Parkview on Thursday at the Class 5A girls state tournament in Hot Springs. The previous record was 55 points, set by Wilmar’s Brenda Rhodes in 1984. Higginbottom, whose previous career high was 43 points, finished 15 of 34 from the floor and made 21 of 24 free-throw attempts.
BATESVILLE 89, LR PARKVIEW 77
HOT SPRINGS — Batesville Coach Stan Fowler has seen a whole lot in his coaching career, one that’s spanned five different decades.
But 57 points? That’s something new.
“That was crazy,” Fowler said. “But that’s the kind of athlete she is.”
She would be Isabella Higginbottom, who powered Batesville past Little Rock Parkview on Thursday morning to an 89-77 victory in the first round of the Class 5A state tournament.
The 57-point performance put Higginbottom into the record books for most points in an Arkansas girls state playoff game, surpassing Wilmar’s Brenda Rhodes, who scored 55 in 1984.
“I don’t really think about [scoring],” Higginbottom said. “If it needs to happen, I can make it happen. I just do whatever, put up whatever will help the team win, and whatever happens, happens.”
Higginbottom had scored 25 by halftime, but the senior tried not to pay too much attention to her points.
Of course, with the number on the scoreboards at either end of Trojan Arena, it was hard to miss as the Missouri signee ticked past 30, then 40, then 50, far surpassing her previous career-high of 43.
“I look up every once in a while to see how many fouls the other girls have or how many fouls I have,” Higginbottom said with a smirk.
“So of course,
I noticed it, but I wasn’t thinking, ‘Oh,
I’ve got to get this.’ ”
For all of Fowler’s awe, the Batesville coach wasn’t stunned by Higginbottom’s performance.
“[Isabella] can shoot a three but so can 100 girls,” Fowler said. “What she can do is change directions on a drive and change it so quick. She can get around virtually anybody and that’s how she scored a lot of her points.”
Higginbottom shot 15 of 34 from the floor, but she made her hay at the free-throw line, knocking down 21 of 24 attempts
“Never in my career have I had one player, especially from an opposing team, put up that many,” Patriots Coach Lahoma Howard said. “[Higginbottom] played an incredible game.”
It overshadowed what was an impressive performance from a plucky Parkview (1110) team that never wanted to go away. Trailing by seven after a quarter and nine points at halftime, the Lady Patriots would never fade. Parkview got as close as two in the early minutes of the fourth quarter after a Jordan Gregory three-pointer — she had 17 points to go along with 17 from Jada Page — and the Lady Patriots were within three just 90 seconds later.
Higginbottom then closed with a flourish, making her final six free throws and scoring 20 of her points in the final quarter to put the game away.
“If you’ve got to go down, I want to go down like Parkview did today,” Fowler said of the Lady Patriots. “They battled, they never gave up and I was really proud of that group.”
It’ll be a short turnaround for Batesville (22-2) as the Lady Pioneers will return to Hot Springs on Saturday morning for a quarterfinal matchup with Vilonia.
WEST MEMPHIS 53, SYLVAN HILLS 42
Despite a 1-11 conference record, the Lady Blue Devils will play in the Class 5A quarterfinals after dispatching the Lady Bears. Clemisha Brackett finished with 19 points and 11 boards, and the combination of Janiyah Tucker and Tanya Burnett added another 25 points in the win.
Sylvan Hills (12-9) struggled from the floor in the opening half, shooting 6 of 28 en route to a 28-22 deficit. Sophomore Jianna Morris had 13 of those initial 22 — part of her team-high 18 — and classmate Jayla Stirgus chipped in with 13 for the game.
West Memphis (9-14), after trailing 12-9 at the end of the first, now will get a shot at Lake Hamilton on Saturday.
“I don’t really think about [scoring]. If it needs to happen, I can make it happen. I just do whatever, put up whatever will help the team win, and whatever happens, happens.”
Batesville’s Isabella Higginbottom on scoring 57 points — setting the state record for most points in an Arkansas girls state playoff game — in Thursday’s victory over Little Rock Parkview