Red holds on for win over white

FAYETTEVILLE – Freshman Whitney Jones scored 21 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the Unviersity of Arkasnas Lady Razorback basketball team in both categories in the annual Red-White scrimmage on Thursday night at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville.

“The good thing about tonight is we got the chance to get tape on all our players, and that will help us with our younger players to show them where they can improve,” UA head coach Susie Gardner said.

Getting off to a slow start in the contest, both teams missed their first shots before Brittney Vaughn put in a layup more than a minute into the contest for the red team. The guard dominated red squad would use solid defense and timely shooting to end the first quarter up by four, 15-11.

A scary moment came just a few minutes into the game when second-team preseason all-SEC post player Sarah Pfeifer hit the court hard holding her left knee. Preliminary reports indicate a sprain, but she will be re-evaluated on Friday.

“We will wait for the doctors to tell us,” Gardner said. “We hope for the best.”

With Pfeifer injured, neither team had substitutes for the rest of the contest. Gardner also switched players among the teams at halftime to work on combinations.

The scoring by both teams picked up in the second quarter with the red squad getting their points from Dominique Washington and Brittney Vaughn who had 10 each. Freshman Whitney Jones led all scorers with 17 points as she looked phenominal in the paint nailing seven of nine shots and three of four from the charity stripe. The first half would end with the red squad increasing its lead to seven, 35-28.

“I felt like I did a good job on offense, but I wish I had gone to the boards better,” Jones said.

The White team came out with a spark in the second half, but their efforts were quickly countered by the red squad who maintained their seven-point advantage. Red was able to increase the lead to nine as the quarter neared zero, but a three-pointer at the buzzer by junior Leslie Howard cut the deficit to six.

Down the stretch, Gardner’s red team was able to hold off a late charge by the white squad in the final moments capped off by a layup from Jones to finish the contest with a four-point 56-54 victory.

Jones led all scorers in the contest with a combined 21 points and 12 rebounds playing for both teams, while Vaughn drained 19. Washington hit for 12 and Sheree Thompson and Ayana Brereton each scored 10.

The Lady Razorbacks are back in action on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 6, when they face Cameron University in their first exhibition game of the season beginning at 2:00 p.m. For more information about Lady Razorback basketball or about Arkansas women’s athletics, please go to www.ladybacks.com.