WBB Preview: Cherokee Invitational

CHEROKEE, N.C. – The Razorback women’s basketball team (6-6) will play in this year’s Cherokee Invitational (Dec. 18-19), hosted at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee, N.C. Arkansas joins Liberty, Toledo and Troy in the field.

The Hogs will face the Flames in their opener on Wednesday night, with tipoff set for 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one between Toledo and Troy (6:00 p.m. CT tip). The winners will play each other for the championship and the losers will play for third place on Thursday night.

All four games will be streamed live on StadiumTV with Taylor Stolworthy (play-by-play) and Shawn Crowe (analyst) on the call. The game will also be broadcast on the radio, with Phil Elson calling the action courtside.

Schedule

Wednesday, Dec. 18
Game 1: Toledo vs. Troy – 6:00 p.m. CT
Game 2: Arkansas vs. Liberty – 45 minutes after game one (Approx. 8:30 p.m. CT)

Thursday, Dec. 19
Championship game – 6:00 p.m. CT
Third place game – 45 minutes after the championship game

Game Info

Opponent: Liberty (6-3, 0-0 CUSA)
Tipoff: Approximately 8:30 p.m. CT , Wednesday, Dec. 18
TV/Streaming: StadiumTV
Radio: Listen | RSN Affiliates
Live Stats: Click here

Arkansas
Head Coach: Mike Neighbors
Record at Arkansas: 145-97 (eighth season)
Career Record: 243-138 (12th)
Leading Scorer: Izzy Higginbottom (23.8 PPG)
Leading Rebounder: Vera Ojenuwa (8.0 RPG)

Liberty
Head Coach: Carey Green
Record at Liberty: 571-236 (26th season)
Career Record: Same
Leading Scorer: Bella Smuda (12.0 PPG)
Leading Rebounder: Bella Smuda (6.9 PPG)

Game Notes

• Arkansas and Liberty have never met on the hardwood.
• Izzy Higginbottom has cemented herself as one of the best scorers in the NCAA through the first 12 games and ranks No. 4 in the country and first in the SEC in points per game (23.8) ahead of LSU’s Flau’Jae Johnson (22.0). She has been the leading scorer in nine games (Fairfield, Little Rock, UTA, UCLA, ORU, OSU, BGSU, BC, TTU) this season.
• She also leads the team and ranks third in the SEC in FT%, going 90-100 (.900) from the charity stripe. Higginbottom leads the SEC and ranks second in the NCAA in FTA (100) and ranks first in the SEC and second in the NCAA in FTM (90). She’s been perfect from the line in five games (ETA&M, LR, UCLA, BGSU, SEMO) this season.
• Higginbottom exploded for a career-high 38 points against Boston College, the most points by a Razorback since Chelsea Dungee dropped 41 against Auburn in 2019.
• With the 38 points from the BC game and 18 points against SEMO, Higginbottom was named Co-SEC Player of the Week.
• Sophomore guard Kiki Smith has established herself as a consistent scoring threat for Arkansas. The Topeka, Kan. native has 10+ points in 8 of 12 games and has started every game this season.
• Smith paced Arkansas with 22 points in its first win of the season against East Texas A&M.  She went 8-9 from FG and the lone miss was in the fourth quarter. From beyond the arc, Kiki ranks third in the SEC and 28th in the NCAA with 29 3s.
• Freshman Phoenix Stotijn made her long awaited debut on Sunday against Texas Tech. The Dutch native settled in in the second half and shot 3-6 from three and converted her lone free throw attempt. Stotijn finished with 12 points and played just over 20 minutes.
• The Hogs also added former Razorback soccer player Ella Rogers to the roster. Rogers, a Granville, Ohio native, was a first-team all district and first-team all-league guard for Granville High School.

For more information on Arkansas women’s basketball, follow @RazorbackWBB on social media.