by FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas women’s basketball dropped its season opener to Fairfield, 81-67, at Bud Walton Arena on Monday night.
The Hogs ended the game on a 6-0 scoring run and held the Stags scoreless for the last 4:36 minutes of the game after Fairfield shot 43.3% (13-30) from beyond the arc. Senior guard Izzy Higginbottom led Arkansas with 22 points in her first game in a Razorback uniform.
The Stags, last year’s MAAC champion, had three players in double figures and were led by guard Kaety L’Amoreaux (18 points). The visitors only had two trips to the free throw line and converted both.
Game Notes
- Arkansas won the tip and scored on its first possession with forward Vera Ojenuwa’s first bucket in a Division I game.
- Higginbottom, who ranked second in the country last season in free throw percentage, led the Hogs at the line going 8-10.
- JUCO transfer Kiki Smith, last season’s NJCAA DI Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and First Team All-American, went 4-6 from three in the second half.
- Melbourne, Ark. native Jenna Lawrence recorded her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
- The Razorbacks had not dropped a season opener since 2011, when they lost to Minnesota, 68-60, at a neutral site.
