(Tucson, AZ) Tonight was the first opportunity for the Wildcats to play a team that it had lost to earlier in the month.
Arizona traveled to Pauley Pavilion on January 5th and faced the Top Ten Bruins. The Cats kept pace for three quarters finally succumbing to UCLA 70-58 in their biggest margin of defeat in PAC-12 play.
This game had UCLA ranked #8 and the Wildcats at #16. Arizona had won three straight since their three game hiccup against the Bruins and the Oregon schools.
Coach Barnes put a lot of emphasis on this game describing it as a “revenge game.”
Zona jumped out to a 6-0 lead before Michaela Onyewere got UCLA on the board.
Aari McDonald and Amari Carter bookended three pointers around a Cate Reese layup. This was the good start that Barnes wanted, 13-6 Cats at the six minute mark.
UCLA was forced to call a timeout at the 5:21 mark as the Wildcats had not missed a shot coming out of the chute 6-6 and 2-2 from the three point stripe.
The U of A missed their first shot attempt by Helena Pueyo at 3:08 of the the first quarter.
The start the Wildcats had in the first quarter was by far their best of the season.
Midway through the second quarter, Zona still had a 35-20 lead with 60% shooting from the field and 7-12 from beyond the arc.
This game also had a “game within a game” as Japreece Dean and McDonald went head to head on both ends of the court. There’s no love lost between these two.
Arizona had their largest halftime lead in a PAC-12 game this year, 47-32.
Even though the Cats cooled down from the field, still shot 54% from the field (15-28) and an amazing 7-14 from three.
It was the Sam Thomas and McDonald show as they went 9-13 in the first half as the Bruins were chasing both all over the floor.
Another amazing stat of the first half was the Cats only turned the ball over once.
Charisma Osborne and Onyenwere led the Bruins with twelve and ten points respectively. McDonald and the Arizona defense held Dean scoreless.
Cats came out came out strong out of the locker room and extended their lead to 56-37 at the 7:53 mark of the third quarter.
Dominique McBryde and Reese both picked up their third fouls within seconds of each other and had to go the bench. Barnes inserted Samaj Smith and Pueyo off the bench.
You could see the frustration on Dean’s face as was 0-11 against McDonald and Carter.
McBryde picked up her fourth foul with 1:28 left in the third quarter and went back to the bench with Thomas returning with three fouls of her own.
Arizona kept the “pedal to the metal” in the third actually extending their halftime margin 73-48. In games past, the third quarter has been at times a concern by Barnes.
Anything short of a miracle by the Bruins and this game was in the bag after three quarters.
The white flags came out earlier than anyone expected at the start of the final period as both UCLA coach Cory Close and Barnes cleared their benches.
The final score 92-66 was every bit as real as the frustration thrusted upon the Bruins on the incredibly fast start by Arizona.
McDonald led the way with 27 points and 3-6 from downtown. Thomas always consistent had 20 points and often big baskets at a crucial time in the game.
The Wildcat’s attack and game plan was as precise as a surgeons scalpel. This was not just a win, but rather a beatdown that no one outside Tucson ever saw coming. When it’s all said and done, this was a much a signature win for the program and also put Coach Barnes front and center on the national stage.
This was Arizona’s first win over a Top Ten team since 2004.
So, according to Barnes “you celebrate tonight and forget about it tomorrow.”
The Trojans come to town on Sunday at noon coming off a triple overtime loss up the road at ASU 76-75.
Tonight’s attendance was 7,407 and they were loud. Bigger crowds will be the “norm” instead of the exception as Barnes and the Cats continue to make their mark on the city and the nation.
