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Washington's buzzer-beater ousts Coastal Carolina

The Red Wolves moved their overall record to 8-11 and improved to 5-3 in Sun Belt play, while handing the Chanticleers just their third loss of the season.

JONESBORO, Ark. —  Sophomore guard Jireh Washington scored a game-high 20 points and hit a buzzer-beating shot to help lift the Arkansas State women's basketball team to a thrilling 63-61 victory over Coastal Carolina Saturday at First National Bank Arena.
 
The Red Wolves moved their overall record to 8-11 and improved to 5-3 in Sun Belt play, while handing the Chanticleers just their third loss of the season. A-State remained undefeated in four conference home games, while Coastal Carolina now holds a 15-3 overall mark and 5-2 league record.
 
Washington was joined in double figures by freshman guard Mya Love, who started her first game of the year, with a season-high 15 points. Washington also ended the contest with a team-high six assists and nine rebounds.
 
"Jireh and Mya were a huge part of this win, but we had other players step up big too," head coach Matt Daniel said. "The energy on the bench and in the arena was great. Jireh was five plays away from a triple-double, and Mya had a career day.
 
"(Coastal Carolina) likes to score in the 80s, and we weren't playing slow – we were running right back at them – but our defense was stifling enough and changed the pace enough that we were able to get it done. We're going to celebrate this win."
 
The Chanticleers ended the first period with an 11-9 lead, but A-State outscored Coastal Carolina 18-14 in the second to take a 27-25 advantage into the break. After shooting just 25 percent in the first half, the Red Wolves hit 7-of-15 shots in the third to help extend its lead to 43-35 heading into the final 10 minutes of action.
 
Still trailing by eight points, 53-45, with 5:05 remaining, the Chanticleers used a 9-1 run over the next three minutes to tie the game at 54-54. Although the Red Wolves never gave up the lead in the fourth period, the Chanticleers tied the game again at 61-61 with 21 second left on the clock to set up Washington's heroics.
 
Holding for the last shot, Washington missed a jumper in the paint with the clock winding down, but corralled her own rebound and was able to get up the game-winning shot just before time expired to secure the outcome.
 
Arkansas State, which also made 7-of-15 shots in the fourth period, finished the outing with a 35.4 field-goal percentage. Coastal Carolina hit 68.8 percent of its shots from the field and outscored the Red Wolves 26-20 in the fourth, but A-State limited the Chanticleers to a 37.7 percent mark for the entire contest.
 
Led by a 14 rebounds from Morgan Wallace, who narrowly missed a double-double with eight points as well, the Red Wolves pulled down 43 boards to the Chanticleers 46. However, they committed two fewer turnovers (14-16) and posted five more steals (11-6) than Coastal Carolina.
 
The Chanticleers were led by three players scoring in double figures, including Naheria Hamilton with a team-high 14 to go along with 14 boards. Aja Blount added 12 points off the bench while Caitlin Roche chipped in 11. A-State held one of the top scorers in the conference, DJ Williams, to just seven points on the day.
 
Arkansas State returns to action Saturday, Feb. 1, with a noon game at ULM. The contest against the Warhawks will be aired live on ESPN+ while the broadcast can be heard on the EAB Red Wolves Radio Network on 95.3 The Ticket.

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