Williams, a UAM basketball great, dies at 60

Pearlean Davidson Williams scored 2,397 points at the University of Arkansas at Monticello from 1980-84. 
(UAM sports information)
Pearlean Davidson Williams scored 2,397 points at the University of Arkansas at Monticello from 1980-84. (UAM sports information)

After an overall state championship at Parkdale High School in Ashley County, Pearlean Davidson Williams became just the second All-America women's basketball player in the history of the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

"I watched her play," said Becky Yarbrough, Star City's longtime girls basketball coach who began her UAM playing career just after Williams finished in 1984. "She could post up better than anybody. She was strong with good post moves. You weren't going to stop her."

Williams, who was named to the American Women's Sports Foundation and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-America first teams for three straight years (1982-84) and who later coached at Eudora, died June 23 at Morehouse General Hospital in Bastrop, La., according to her obituary. She was 60.

UAM athletics on Wednesday announced Williams' death on Twitter.

Williams led Parkdale to back-to-back state championships in Arkansas' smallest classification in 1979-80 and as a senior guided the team to the title in the overall tournament, which was last played in 1992.

Williams' All-America accolades were a big deal for a fairly young Cotton Blossoms program and the southeast Arkansas basketball landscape in general, retired high school coach Barbara Gilliam-Harris said.

"She dominated the inside," said Harris, who coached against Williams' Parkdale teams at Ashley County rival Portland. "She was bigger than the other girls, but she had so many skills that were natural skills. I think she changed the game to be more post-oriented than it had been in the past."

Williams' high school success translated into collegiate dominance as one of Alvy Early's first star recruits at UAM, beginning her college career right after Gwen Walker graduated as a two-time All-America Blossom (1979-80).

Williams scored a then-UAM record 2,397 points, averaging 18.6 points per game. (Tina Webb now holds the record with 3,412 points from 1986-90.) Williams shot 60% from the floor as a freshman during a 38-game season and 56% for her career through 129 games.

Harris became Drew Central's coach in 1984 and established a friendship with Williams when the latter became an opposing coach at Eudora.

"Sometimes those relationships last forever when you make them early. She always had a super great attitude," said Harris, who retired from Drew Central in 2003 with 817 career wins.

Yarbrough, whose 1,688 points from 1984-88 (as Becky Jones) rank tied for ninth in Blossoms history, also coached against Williams' teams and worked with her at UAM camps.

"She was a sweet person and always had a smile on her face," Yarbrough said. "Just a great basketball player but an even greater person."

Williams was inducted into the UAM Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and is a member of the Ashley County Hall of Fame. She resided in Parkdale until her death.

She is survived by her husband of 35 years, Willie Williams; daughter Latasha Campbell and her husband, Steve, of Parkdale; sons Jonathan Williams of White Hall and Jeremiah Williams of Parkdale; three granddaughters; nine sisters; and six brothers, among others. Both parents, two brothers and two sisters preceded her in death.

Williams' visitation is scheduled for 5:30 to 7 p.m. today at Cromwell Funeral Home in Hamburg. A graveside service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at Childress Chapel Cemetery in Parkdale.

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