JONESBORO – The Arkansas State football team’s game this Saturday, Sept. 12, against Kansas State at Bill Snyder Family Stadium has been moved to an 11 a.m. kickoff and will be televised nationally on FOX.

The Red Wolves and Wildcats, set to meet for the first time since 1980, move into the new time and TV slot previously occupied by the Louisiana Tech at Baylor game before it was postponed.

One week after playing Memphis in its season opener, the Red Wolves will face their second straight opponent receiving votes in the top-25 Coaches Poll.  A-State will be one of just 15 FBS teams to have played a game this season entering Saturday’s slate of games.

The Wildcats are set to play their season opener after finishing their 2019 campaign with an 8-5 record and appearance in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

The post Red Wolves football game at Kansas State to be nationally televised appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

JONESBORO – The Arkansas State Athletics Department announced Wednesday it has added another game to its 2020 football schedule as the Red Wolves are now slated to play Big 12 Conference-member Kansas State at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Sept. 12.

The Red Wolves now once again have 12 games on their 2020 schedule after also announcing last week the addition of a Sept. 19 home game against UCA.  A-State’s contests against the Bears and Wildcats replace its games against Michigan and Howard that were previously on its schedule.

Arkansas State will face Kansas State for just the third time in school history, last meeting 40 years ago in 1980.  The two programs first played in 1948 and each of the two previous contests were played in Manhattan, Kan.

The last time A-State played a Big 12 opponent was 2009 when it faced then-member Nebraska before the Huskers moved to the Big Ten Conference.  While the Red Wolves haven’t faced a Big 12 opponent the last 10 seasons, it played at least one opponent from the league every year from 2003-09.

The Wildcats completed the 2019 season with an 8-5 overall record and 5-4 mark in league play.  They ended the year with a narrow 20-17 setback against Navy in the Liberty Bowl.  K-State has appeared in a bowl game nine of the last 10 seasons, including the 2012 campaign when it finished ranked 12th in the nation in the Associated Press Poll.

The 2019 season saw A-State make its ninth consecutive bowl-game appearance, capping off an 8-5 campaign by defeating Florida International in the Camellia Bowl. The Red Wolves’ bowl streak is the 14th longest in the nation.A-State has piled up 75 victories over the last nine years to tie the 24th most in the nation over that span.  The Red Wolves have also strung together 15 consecutive years with a winning record at Centennial Bank Stadium dating back to 2005.  The program is 68-17 (.800 winning percentage) at the stadium since the 2005 campaign and has won 43 of its last 53 home outings.

The post A-State football adds game at Kansas State to 2020 schedule appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Things looked promising early on for Central Arkansas at Kansas State on Thursday as the Sugar Bears got out to a 7-0 start and led by as many as nine in the first quarter – but after going into the half down by just four, the third quarter did the Sugar Bears in as they were outscored 20-8 by K-State as the Wildcats got some separation en route to a 70-54 victory at Bramlage Coliseum.

“I’m really pleased with our effort – we were just outmatched,” said Central Arkansas head coach Sandra Rushing. “I’m proud, I’m happy with this – not with the score, but with the way we fought. We missed so many assignments tonight, but we were going hard. I’m really happy with the way we came out, and we had certain units that played well, but we made a lot of mental mistakes and we’ve got to clean that up.”

The Sugar Bears (5-5) led the Wildcats (8-3) 13-10 after the first quarter, and were ahead or tied for more than 14 minutes in the first half before K-State took the lead for good with just under five minutes to go in the second quarter, leading by as many as six before taking a four-point cushion into the locker room at the break.

Central Arkansas found itself down just two with 6:30 to go in the third, but K-State closed out the period on a 16-2 run – holding the Sugar Bears to only a pair of Alana Canady free throws over the duration of the quarter as the Wildcats extended their lead to 16.

The Wildcats’ lead swelled to 22 late in the fourth quarter, but the Sugar Bears closed by outscoring K-State 11-5 to trim the final margin to 16 as each team scored 24 in the final frame.

The Sugar Bears shot 37.3 percent from the field for the game, including a fourth quarter in which they were 7 of 11 (63.6 percent); and were 5 of 10 from 3-point range – making them 13-for-22 (59.1 percent) over the last two games after starting the year hitting just 18.2 percent in their first eight games.

They also enjoyed their best night of the season at the free throw line, knocking down 11 of 12 (91.7 percent) – including 8-of-8 in the fourth quarter.

“We shot 50 percent from the 3 and over 90 percent at the free throw line – there were a lot of positive things tonight,” Rushing said. “One positive thing is that our young kids have gained so much experience. This was a great learning experience for us. We had people get frustrated, and we have to learn how to handle adversity. My frustration tonight came from having to discipline people on the bench for not listening or not looking. We’ve got to focus in on what we have to do. Energy is contagious and positive attitudes are contagious. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Freshman Alana Canady led Central Arkansas in scoring with 14 points, going 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Taylor Sells had her second consecutive game in double figures, scoring 12 and committing just one turnover in 31 minutes. Kamry Orr added 9 points, a game-high 9 rebounds, and a pair of steals. Alanie Fisher had 8 points in 15 minutes off the bench, and Maddie Goodner added 5 points and had 3 assists.

“I thought [Canady] got a lot of good experience tonight, but she showed she was a freshman at times,” Rushing said. “I thought Sells did a great job – she pushed the basketball and handled it pretty well. I know she gets tired, but she’s going to have to be able too play 40 minutes for us, and Kamry Orr is going to have to play 40 minutes. Alanie Fisher had some productivity at the end of the game, but we needed more. She got zero rebounds – not one of her best games. For us to win big games, we’ve got to have everybody contributing.”

The Wildcats were led by 17 points from Rachel Ranks, with Peyton Williams getting 12 and Jasauen Beard adding 10. The win was K-State’s second of the season over a Southland team, having beaten league preseason favorite Lamar 73-55 on Dec. 5.

The Sugar Bears now turn their attention to Southland play, as the 18-game conference slate begins on Dec. 31 in the Farris Center against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

“We don’t play again until the 31st – that’s a long time not to play a game, but we definitely need this break,” Rushing said. “We’ll practice twice, then give them a few days off, then get back to work.We still have a ways to – but they want to win. They’re trying and I appreciate that.”

The post K-State pulls away from UCA in second half appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – In its first visit to Kansas State since 1987, Little Rock women’s basketball took a 66-51 loss at Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

Raeyana DeGray led the Trojans (3-7) with 14 points for the fifth time in the last six games while earning eight rebounds and two steals. Keanna Keys put up 12 points with five rebounds, a block and a steal. Anna Hurlburt had 11 points with five rebounds and two steals. Monique Townson tied her career high for assists with nine while earning five rebounds, two points and a steal.

For the Wildcats (7-2), Peyton Williams led the game with a career-high 25 points. Shaelyn Martin led the game with 11 rebounds while Kayla Goth had a game-high 10 assists with eight points. Rachel Ranke was the second K-State player in double figures with 13 points.

Little Rock trailed Kansas State 19-14 at the end of the first quarter. Down 9-4, Little Rock went on a 10-0 run to go up 14-9. The Wildcats followed suit with a 10-0 run of their own to end the quarter. The Trojans were 6-for-12 (50%) from the field while the Wildcats were 7-for-9 (77.8%). Keys led Little Rock with six points as she went 3-for-4 while Townson tallied four assists. DeGray matched her career high for steals by leading the quarter with two.

The Wildcats extended their lead in the second quarter by outscoring the Trojans 15-7 to take a 34-21 lead at the half. Little Rock was just 3-for-14 (21.4%) in the period while Kansas State was 6-for-13 (46.2%). The Wildcats put together runs of six and seven points during the quarter after the Trojans began the period with a 4-0 run.

The Trojans were outscored 20-11 in the third quarter as the Wildcats enlarged their lead to 54-32. Little Rock had a 4-0 run early in the quarter with a pair of free throws and a jumper by Yanina Inkina, but Kansas State held its own with a 7-0 run in the middle of the quarter and a 5-0 run at the end. The Trojans were 4-for-13 (30.8%) in the quarter while the Wildcats were 7-for-16 (43.8%) and 4-for-8 from three.

Little Rock had its best showing of the game in the fourth quarter as it outscored Kansas State 19-12. Down by 27, the Trojans put together a 12-0 run — their longest of the game. Hurlburt scored seven of the 12 points during the run. Little Rock outscored Kansas State 16-5 over the last six minutes and 23 seconds.

The Trojans ended the game shooting 32.3 percent (20-for-62) while the Wildcats shot 47.9 (23-for-48). Both teams tallied 33 boards while Little Rock had more assists (7-6) and fewer turnovers (16-14). Kansas State had the advantage in assists (18-12) and blocks (5-2). The Wildcats were 15-for-17 (88.2%) from the free-throw line while the Trojans were 8-for-10 (80.0%).

Little Rock will return to the Jack Stephens Center for its final non-conference game against LSU on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

The post Little Rock WBB falls at Kansas State appeared first on ArkansasSports.Net.