ARLINGTON, Texas (2/26/22) – Jireh Washington and Lauryn Pendleton exploded for a combined 51 points to lead the Arkansas State women's basketball team to a thrilling 82-75 victory at UT Arlington on Saturday in the regular-season finale at the College Park Center.
Washington led all players with 26 points and went 10-of-15 from the foul line, along with eight rebounds and five assists to lead A-State (12-15, 5-9 SBC), which ended a nine-game losing streak in the series. Meanwhile, the freshman Pendleton dropped a career-best 25 points on 10-of-16 from the floor to play spoiler on Senior Day for the Lady Mavericks (17-7, 11-4). The Little Rock native also rattled home 5-of-6 from 3-point range, including a perfect 3-for-3 in the first half.
The Red Wolves shot 45.3 percent (29-64) from the field, including 41.7 percent (10-24) from beyond the arc. At the free-throw line, A-State connected on 14-of-19 (73.7 percent), including 12-of-17 in the second half.
Jade Upshaw poured in 14 points in over 30 minutes off the bench on 6-of-12 shooting, including a pair of treys. The freshman scored 12 of those points in the second half while also grabbing four rebounds.
UTA shot 41.5 percent (27-65) from the floor and won the battle of the boards 44-35, but was limited to 26.7 percent (4-15) from 3-point range and only shot 65.4 percent (17-26) at the charity stripe. Starr Jacobs led the Lady Mavericks with 25 points and 12 rebounds to go along with four steals and two blocks. Claire Chastain and Terryn Milton added 16 points apiece, with Milton also handing out 11 assists. De'Sha Benjamin also scored in double figures, tallying 11 off the bench.
Pendleton led a hot start for A-State, scoring 10 points in the first quarter and helping the Red Wolves shoot 52.6 percent from the field en route to 26-17 lead after the game's first 10 minutes. Pendleton started 4-of-5 from the field with two of A-State's four treys in the period. The Scarlet and Black were tough on the defensive end, forcing six turnovers to start the contest.
The Red Wolves then weathered a rough start to the second quarter, as the Lady Mavericks went on an 8-0 run to open the period before Pendleton ended the drought with a corner three. A Jacobs layup then cut it back to two before Washington responded with a trey to push the lead back out to five. Chastain scored four straight for UTA to make it a one-point contest, then an Upshaw jumper made it 34-33 with 90 seconds left in the half. A-State held a 34-33 halftime edge after Jacob scored in the final seconds.
Upshaw opened the second half with a steal that led to a Pendleton transition layup 10 seconds into the second half, but the Lady Mavericks responded with a 7-0 run to lead by four. Five more Upshaw points put the Scarlet and Black back up by one before UTA went on a 12-3 run to take its largest lead of the day, up 52-44 with 1:35 left in the third. The Sapulpa, Okla., native sparked a 9-2 stretch for the Red Wolves to end the quarter and drained a three with 12 seconds left to make it 54-53 UTA with one quarter to play.
The Lady Mavericks led by as much as five early in the fourth, but back-to-back Pendleton treys tied it at 59 with 7:38 left. UT Arlington then pushed its lead out to six midway through the final period, but Pendleton and Washington sparked a late surge that saw A-State outscore UTA 18-5 in the final 4:42. Washington scored 10 of those final 18 points, including six at the foul line, helping the Red Wolves outscore UTA 29-21 in the quarter to take the victory.
NEXT UP
With the win, A-State clinches the No. 8 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, held in Pensacola, Fla., paired against ninth-seeded Coastal Carolina. Tip-off against the Chanticleers inside the Pensacola Bay Center is slated for 11:30 a.m. CT Wednesday. The game can be viewed live on ESPN+ while the radio broadcast can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves Sports Network flagship station 95.3/96.9 The Ticket/970 AM.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on the A-State women's basketball program, follow @AStateWB on Twitter and @astatewbb on Instagram, while also liking the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/RedWolvesWBB.
