(Tucson, AZ) Arizona came into Friday nights matchup versus the USC Trojans off a rough weekend in the state of Oregon.
The Wildcats lost 86-64 to Oregon State where the Cats were never really in the game. It continued two days later in Eugene with another blowout 93-60 to Oregon.
The lone bright spot for Arizona was freshman forward Cate Reese was named PAC-12 freshman of the week.
Arizona was able to get off to a batter start against USC, unlike the road trip last week in Oregon. The Cats missed open shots and found themselves in a close game most of the first quarter.
One major issue for Arizona was early foul trouble committing five fouls to USC’s one. At the end of the first quarter the score was knotted at 16 all.
The second quarter started off as a nightmare for Arizona with an early 8-0 run that put USC up 26-18 with 5:37 left in the first half.
Turnovers killed Arizona during the Trojan’s run. Arizona had eight turnovers to only three for the Trojans.
Arizona would eventually start to get some consistent rhythm on offense down the stretch of the first half. Another aspect of the game was Arizona’s lack of defense in the first half giving up 44.8% from the field to USC.
The Cats came storming out of the locker-room tying up the game at 35-35, lead by some great ball movement and timely shooting for Tee Tee Starks. Aari McDonald and Dominique McBryde lead the way for the Wildcats to start the second half both on offense and defense.
With about 4 minutes to go in the third quarter Arizona was shooting an incredible 75% from the field and 50% for the game.
The Wildcats finished off the third quarter hitting 61.5% from the field. McDonald’s 15 points and McBryde tossed in 10 points and 8 rebounds. Arizona lead 53-45 with a quarter to go.
The surging Wildcats started the fourth quarter with momentum on their side going four for four from the field, thanks to outstanding ball movement and a gritty defensive effort.
McDonald is nationally known for her scoring, but Friday night with three minutes left in the game she had a seven to one assists to turnover margin.
Arizona was up by double digits at one point, but the Trojans made it a close game down the stretch in the last two minutes of the game.
Arizona fought off the Trojan’s late rally to win by a final score of 71-68,
McDonald lead the way for the Cats with a team high 20 points, she also finished with 8 assists on the night.
The Wildcats had four out of five starters scoring in double figures. Arizona finished the nigh shooting 49% from the field and 42.1% from the three-point line. They out rebounded the Trojans 37-27 in a very gritty win for Arizona.
The Wildcats will take on the UCLA Bruins this upcoming Sunday with Arizona looking for the series sweep at home.
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