GREENVILLE, S.C. — In a closely fought game, Asia Avinger delivered a crucial performance by scoring 13 of her 19 points in the second half, while De’Mauri Flournoy added 15 points, helping Georgia wrap up with an 11-2 run to triumph over Arkansas 79-74 in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday.
Following this victory, Georgia (13-18) is set to face the No. 5 seed and 10th-ranked Oklahoma on Thursday. The Lady Bulldogs aim to avenge their previous regular-season defeat against the Sooners, who were then ranked No. 15, having lost 86-55 on January 26.
During the first three quarters, Izzy Higginbottom had a standout performance for Arkansas, amassing 29 points by sinking a three-point play with 4:52 remaining, giving her team a 57-46 lead. However, Georgia began the fourth quarter strong with an 8-3 surge, closely closing the gap to 63-62 following Roxane Makolo’s fast-break layup.
Georgia took the lead for the first time, since the second quarter’s 32-30 point, with Trinity Turner’s floater in the lane with just over two minutes on the clock, for a 74-72 advantage. After Arkansas missed a crucial three-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer, Avinger capitalized with a jumper from the free-throw line with 12.9 seconds remaining, extending the lead to 76-72. Turner followed up by stealing the inbounds pass, allowing Flournoy to make 1 of 2 free throws, securing the final five-point lead.
Trinity Turner added 11 points, while Mia Woolfolk contributed 10 points—all in the second half—for Georgia. Despite facing tight defensive coverage, Higginbottom scored nine points in the fourth quarter, finishing with an impressive 38 points for Arkansas (10-22).
Higginbottom played a pivotal role in the first half, scoring 24 of Arkansas’ 41 points and helping secure a four-point lead. Her performance was outstanding, making 10 of 15 field goal attempts, while her teammates combined for just 5 of 20. This game marked Higginbottom’s 23rd occasion of achieving 20 points in the season.
During the second quarter, Higginbottom scored a significant layup in heavy traffic with 3:16 left, becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer for a single season with a total of 780 points.
