Washington sets record with 37 but not enough at Ole Miss

OXFORD – A career high from Dominique Washington wasn’t enough to break the spell of the Tad Smith Coliseum as the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks lost 85-78 to Ole Miss in the regular season finale for both women’s basketball teams. The junior transfer came off the bench with 37 points to lead Arkansas, but it was Ole Miss junior Armintie Price that led five Lady Rebels in double figures to the victory. Washington broke the Arkansas school record for points scored in a regular season SEC game which was co-held by Shameka Christon and Wendi Willits with 33 each. “She was feeling it, but in all honesty, she was in the game because she was playing the best defense on their guards,” UA head coach Susie Gardner said. Washington’s 37 points ties as the fourth highest single game in school history, tying a 37-point effort by Bettye Fiscus from 1982 at the Alaska Northern Lights Invitational and is the most points scored since Christon posted 40 points in the SEC Tournament in 2002. The win gave Ole Miss, 15-12, the right to wear the home white uniforms in the opening round of the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament next Thursday as the two teams rematch next week. “It will be fresh on our minds and we can make adjustments,” Gardner said. “I’d like to play them right now.” Ole Miss is the eight seed with Arkansas ninth, the game to tipoff at noon at ALLTEL Arena. The winner faces No. 1-seeded LSU on Friday, also at noon. While the scoring title went to Washington, the day went to Price, whose double-double effort of 24 points and 11 rebounds carried the day for Ole Miss. “They had all the hustle plays in the first half, and she (Price) was everywhere today,” Gardner said. Arkansas, 13-14, is the nine-seed with the loss, and sees its losing skid extend to eight games with the defeat. Ole Miss keeps its perfect record at home against Arkansas with the 12th win over the Lady’Backs at Smith Coliseum. Ole Miss had more turnovers than points to begin the second half, but Arkansas could get no closer than a bucket most of the second half. A five-point burst from Washington down the stretch pulled Arkansas back from a double-digit deficit to within five, 67-62, with 4:49 to play. Ole Miss responded with five unanswered to regain its 10-point lead. Arkansas’ aggressive defense kept the game in doubt until the final 15 seconds. Washington free throws and shots brought the Lady’Backs to within four, 79-75, with 49 seconds left. A Hobbs layup following a pair of Ole Miss free throws kept the margin at four with 22 seconds left, and a foul by Tasi Worsham sent Brittney Vaughn to the line with 15 to play. Vaughn hit one of two, but Arkansas mishandled the rebound to allow Ole Miss to go to the line again. Two free throws from Ashley Johnson made it a five-point game, and Arkansas turnovers in the closing minutes allowed Ole Miss to protect the lead. Poor ball handling in the first half sent Arkansas to halftime trailing 39-33. Arkansas jumped on Ole Miss early behind six quick points from Melissa Hobbs. The 6-0 senior’s jumper with 17:24 on the first-half clock gave Arkansas a 9-6 lead. It would be four seconds shy of five minutes before Hobbs scored again. During the 4:56 dry spell Price hit six points in a 10-0 to give Ole Miss control, 16-9. About the same time, Washington began to warm up for Arkansas. Starting with a three-pointer at 10:47, the junior college transfer would hit 13 first-half points in 11 minutes played, includingH a deep three-pointer with 3:40 left in the half to return Arkansas to the lead, 31-29. Washington’s three was Arkansas’ last points of the half until a driving layup by Vaughn in the closing minute. Four points each from Bartee and Price led Ole Miss on a 10-2 run to finish the half with the lead, 39-33. Arkansas shot a near-season high from the field in the first half with 50%, but 15-first half turnovers, 10 more than the host Lady Rebels, gave Ole Miss the extra chances it needed to overcome 40% shooting early. Along with Washington, Arkansas got double digits from Hobbs with 12. The Lady’Backs were led on the boards by a career high 13 from Brittney Vaughn, tying the school mark for defensive rebounds in a SEC game with 12. Ole Miss got 15 off the bench from Carla Bartee, with 14 from Awkward, 13 from Jada Mincy and 11 from Shawn Goff.