The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER losing her first two games as a professional female basketball player, Lashann Higgs and the Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM finally got their first win in the Liga Femenina Endesa, the top division of women’s basketball in Spain.

The Harbour Island, Eleuthera, native who had a stellar NCAA collegiate career for the Texas Longhorns had a game high 22 points in their 79-69 decision over the Spar Gran Canaria on Sunday, October 3 at the Bombibre Arena.

The win came after she canned eight points in a 70-45 blowout loss to Lointek Gernika Bizkaia on September 27 at the Polideport Maloste in Gernika, Vizcayal. She made her debut on September 19 with 11 points in a 76-65 loss to IDK Euskotren at the Bembibre Arena.

“We’re just continuing to work to get better as a team. It’s still pretty early in the season,” Higgs said “It’s actually going pretty good. I’m actually adjusting to my new team-mates. We’re working towards getting better.”

As one of four foreign players, three others from the United States, Higgs is expected to help Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM to improve on their dismal showing last year when they only won about four games.

“I’m making the adjustment and trying to get better every day,” Higgs said. “I’m working on my weaknesses and trying to fine tone my game.”

Additionally, she’s trying to get used to the more physical style of play exhibited in Europe as opposed to the more finesse play displayed in the United States, while trying to pick up a few sentences as she becomes more fluent in Spanish.

“There’s a lot of adjustment to learn about the physicality of the game as a professional playing over here, so that is the major adjustment,” she stated. “ I can’t forget the language barrier. Those are the two major things that I have to deal with. The longer you are here, the more you pick up. But they don’t ask me to say too much, so I can get by right now.”

Higgs and Embutidos Pajariel Bembibre PDM will be back in action on Sunday when they take on Casademont Zaragoza. The 30-game series will run through March 3 before the playoffs get underway.

“I just want to explore as much of the city as I can, but as far as basketball is concerned, I just want to continue to get better,” she stated. “Once I do that, I think I will be able to help this team improve from last year and hopefully make the playoffs.”

The 5-feet, 9-inches guard, who lost her mother, Romilly Higgs in 2013, and moved to Texas under the tutelage of Olympic bronze medalist Frank Rutherford. She was then raised by George and Jackie Washington. George is an assistant coach for Texas women’s basketball and was a standout guard at Abilene Christian, the same school that Jackie starred before she was inducted into the ACU Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

In Texas, Higgs played for Cedar Ridge where she earned All-American honors in 2015 as a senior. After she emerged as one of the most decorated players to take the court in the Austin area, she went on to Texas where she played in just about every game as a freshman and sophomore. She was an All-Conference performer in her junior year before she suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2018.

In a remarkable recovery, Higgs made her comeback in a redshirt senior season in which she started 10 of their 30 games, achieving 20.8 minutes per game. She led the Longhorns in field-goal percentage with a 45.1% and scored in double figures 14 times.

Higgs, ranked 28th on Texas’ all-time scoring list with 1,288 points, was in Kansas City in March with the Longhorns for the Big 12 Tournament when the coronavirus pandemic struck, halting all sporting activities around the world.

In Spain, Higgs said everyone is abiding to the rules and regulations as imposed by the government in regards to Covid-19.

“We get a Covid-19 every week to make sure that we don’t put any of our team members or staff at risk,” Higgs stressed. “So the standard hand washing, wearing of the masts and the social distancing is in place.”