(Tucson, AZ) Fresh off their trip to Hawaii, the Cats wanted keep the momentum they established on the island.
Jumping out to a 9-2 lead in the first four and half minutes witch included an acrobatic fall away jumper from an offensive rebound by Cate Reese.
Aari McDonald continued her stellar performance which has her leading the nation in scoring with 29.5 pointsj per game. Off a steal she went coast to coast on a breakaway layup.
Freshman Bryce Nixon hit a nice three pointer at the 1:07 mark to exotend the lead 17-8.
One noticeable improvement was out of the 12 rebounds, 5 were
offensive in the first quarter.
Reese and McDonald led the first quarter scoring with nine and five points respectively.
At the end of the first quarter and the beginning second quarter the Bulldogs went on a 10-4 run.
Nixon nails a run stopping three pointer at the eight minute mark and Sam Thomas followed on the next possession. Arizona back up by ten 23-13 with SCSU calling a timeout.
McDonald off an offensive rebound takes it the length of the court for a layup and a 29-15 lead with 2:29 left in the half. This wasn’t a common occurrence the last two seasons.
Tee Tee Starks lights it up from downtown with just under a minute left in the half.
Arizona’s lead 34-17 at the half and had an a 11-4 run to finish up.
During halftime, former Wildcat basketball star Ify Ibekwe was honored and not only had her jersey retired (#3), but was also placed in the hallowed Ring in Honor in the McKale rafters. Her coach Joan Bonvincini was there to honor her.
The most noticeable change from the last seasons is that Arizona has the ability to keep the gas peddle down now that McDonald is running the point.
South Carolina State came out of the locker room to score on their first two possessions, but off a missed free throw Junior Lucia Alonso hit McDonald in stride with a picture perfect outlet pass for an easy lay up.
Cats lead 38-26 at the first media timeout of the second half.
McDonald continued to break down the interior defense of the Bulldogs and made a nasty no look pass to McBride for an easy layup.
Starks got a another layup of a great interior pass and was fouled. Off the missed free throw McBride gets the offensive rebound and put it back for a four point play. Nixon hits a trifecta to end the third quarter for a 52-29 lead.
Directly after McBride picked up her fourth foul, Coach Barnes didn’t substitute and it paid off as McBride scored on a nice low post move and a 58-29 lead at the six and a half minute mark in the game.
Freshman center Semaj Smith had some very important and productive minutes going 4-5 from the field and grabbing six rebounds. She also scored on two consecutive possessions midway through the final period.
Thomas was stellar on defense with five blocked shots and four steals. South Carolina State only managed one serious run at the Cats and that was early in the game.
Arizona’s big two of Reese and McDonald led the way, but it was Nixon and Starks that played key roles and kept the Bulldogs off balance.
The Cats roll 73-32 and move to 5-1 on the season.
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