By Kim Doss
Tucson, AZ
The Final Weekend of the Regular Season for Arizona Women’s Basketball
Sunday, 2/25/2018 Oregon @ Arizona
Senior Day at McKale Center was a display of both where the Arizona women’s basketball team has come from and where it hopes to go. The day ended with a 74-61 win and a regular season conference title for the 8th-ranked Oregon Ducks. For the Wildcats, the goal desired and attained was different. The process and energy that Arizona players and coaches so often speak of showed on the court all afternoon.
The weekend brought a tough challenge to town with both the 12th-ranked Oregon State Beavers and the Ducks visiting McKale Center. From the first quarter of Friday’s game against OSU, the Wildcats were faced with the fact that the losses in Corvallis and Eugene weren’t aberrations.
Arizona Wildcats and Oregon Ducks women’s basketball teams tip off on February 25, 2018
While the Oregon State game was an uphill battle from the beginning for the Wildcats, the much-sought effort and energy showed from the opening tip on Sunday afternoon. Against OSU on Friday, Arizona started out shooting 22% in the first half and being outscored 23-9 in the first quarter. In contrast, the Wildcats shot 40% in the first quarter against Oregon, and ended up shooting 38% for the game. All four quarters were tightly contested, with both teams shooting well. The difference was that Oregon was able to get timely stops, which eluded Arizona every time the Wildcats closed the gap.
Jalea Bennett, playing her final home game for the Wildcats, combined with freshman Sam Thomas to lead the way. Bennett opened the scoring for Arizona, while Thomas had nine points and didn’t miss a shot until 2:15 left in the first quarter. Until Kat Wright hit a three-point shot halfway through the second quarter, only one basket had come from someone other than Bennett or Thomas. Bennett would end the game with 14 points, bested only by Thomas, who led scoring for Arizona with 17. Fellow senior Wright led assists with four.
The biggest difference between the two games was consistent effort and energy, according to head coach Adia Barnes. After the game, she noted that the ‘Cats fought for the 50-50 balls, and had great energy for the entire 40 minutes against Oregon. Barnes also felt that Thomas took it personally that she didn’t play well against Oregon State on Friday night, and responded well.
When the weekend came to an end, Arizona had two more losses to two more top teams. The time came to look back on what had been and what was to come, for both the graduating seniors and the players who will return next season.
After the game, Arizona honored players Bennett, Wright and Taryn Griffey, and two graduating student staff members with on-court Senior Day presentations. Bennett will now prepare for a pro career, as Wright starts her formal training to become a coach.
Arizona players, student staff members and families are honored on Senior Day 2/25/2018
When asked what she felt about the experience after four years and two coaches, Bennett said she was humbled to be a part of it and to know she was involved in building something for the future.
“We were a part of something that’s coming,” Bennett said, adding that she couldn’t wait to see what the young ones would do in the future.
For Wright, her experience was different, spending only a year at Arizona after transferring. She said that just being on the court after her injuries made her happy. “To be able to compete the way we did was fun.”
After the final horn had blown at McKale, the Arizona women had a 74-61 loss, but they also had a foundation. Like their final opponents of the regular season, Arizona hopes to go from a team playing in the opening games of the PAC-12 tournament to a team celebrating a regular season championship. To no longer be “complacent with losing,” in the words of their coach. To learn how to win. It may take a while, but “if it’s quick, it’s usually not the right way,” according to Barnes.
Friday, 2/23/2018 Oregon State @ Arizona
Unlike Sunday, the ‘Cats struggled both to score and to get stops for most of Friday night’s game. In the opening quarter, Oregon State opened the scoring with a three-pointer on their first possession. Arizona finally got on the board three minutes in with a three-pointer of their own.
The three would continue to be the preferred shot of the Wildcats, but most came up short. Missed threes quickly turned into scores on the other end for the Beavers. By the time the first period had ended, Oregon State had pushed the lead to 23-9.
The second quarter was more of the same. Arizona scored on the opening possession, but would not get another bucket until Destiny Graham scored with 6:52 left in the half. That would cut the Beavers’ lead to 31-13. When the horn sounded for halftime, Arizona had added only 7 points in the second to fall behind 35-16. Oregon State shot 55% to the Wildcats’ 22% for the half.
Coming out of the half, the Wildcats responded with more energy and a better ten minutes of offense. The problem was getting stops. While the Wildcats shot 40% in the third quarter, they allowed Oregon State to shoot 50%. The Beavers would end the quarter ahead 52-30.
As in three of the four quarters, Oregon State led off the fourth with a score on the first possession.The shooting woes would return for Arizona, while the Beavers continued their steady, effective offense.
Down 65-38 with 52 seconds in the game, the Wildcats showed that they still had the desire. “We want two shots,” freshman Sam Thomas said to her teammate as they in-bounded the ball. When the clock turned to zeroes, the Wildcats had accomplished half of that goal. Oregon State walked away with the 65-40 victory.
