(Tucson, AZ) After dropping both games in the Bay Area last week, Arizona returned home to face two of the most difficult teams in the nation with both Oregon schools.
The Cats got off to a good start with a three pointer from Dominique McBryde in the first minute of play. With the #6 ranked Ducks Arizona couldn’t afford to fall behind early or dig themselves s big hole.
Arizona held an 8-4 lead until the Ducks went on a 5-0 run highlighted by a three pointer by Sabrina Ionescu take a 9-8 lead at the first media timeout.
Out of the timeout Aari McDonald who became Arizona’s all time single season scoring leader hit a three pointer to put the Cats back up 11-9. Their were five lead changes when at the 1:28 mark, McDonald blocked an Oregon shot and fell hard on the court. She remained on the floor for a minute while the officials reviewed the play.
Ionescu hit a three pointer for Oregon to take a 20-16 lead at the end of the first quarter. McDonald checked back in to start the second quarter seemingly unscathed.
The Ducks opened the lead to 27-18 with more sharp shooting from Ionescu. Sam Thomas followed with one out of two free throws moments later.
The Cats clawed their way back into it with consecutive baskets by Cate Reese and a three pointer from the left wing by Tee Tee Starks causing Oregon to call time out with just a three point lead 27-24.
At then 4:25 mark, McDonald defied the odds and took the ball to the hoop with a two on four advantage on the Duck defense to score on a twisting layup. 29-28 Oregon.
Back came the Ducks with a 6-0 run to go back up 35-28 . Oregon were deadly from beyond the arc and extended the lead to ten 38-28 with 1:19 left in the first half.
Arizona cut the lead back under double digits with two layups, the second off a steal and the Cats headed to the locker room down 40-32.
Oregon shot 54.8% from the field on 17-31 and hit five three pointers. The Wildcats we’re at 42.9% off of 12-28 shooting. Arizona had a slight lead on the boards 16-15.
Opening up the second half, Oregon scored down low as RuthyHebard posted up Reese. Zona came right back to score on their first possession.
The Ducks came out with the intent of establishing their inside game and it worked early as Reese was schooled by the Ducks low post players.
Oregon was still shooting the lights out to begin the third quarter form all over the court. On defense the Ducks were the more physical team often sending Wildcat players to the floor on hard fouls.
With the media timeout at the 4:47 mark, Oregon held a 55-42 lead making the Cats game plan to change due to the lead back in double digits. The Ducks hit their first six out of ten shots to start the second half. Subsequently, Arizona wasn’t shooting poorly hitting three of six shots at a 50% clip.
McDonld cut the deficit back to ten on a three pointer from the right baseline 55-45.
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Ionescu hit her sixth three pointer with just under two minutes left in the third quarter to extend the Ducks lead to 64-51. With eight seconds left McBryde hit a three to close out the quarter at 64-54 in favor of the Ducks.
Oregon had its best shooting quarter in the third shooting a blazing 63.3% hitting 9-14 field goals. Arizona countered with 6-12 at 50%. Both teams were identical from beyond the arc at 8-17 going into the final quarter.
Reese was no match defensively for All Conference post player Hebard down low as she will learn how to keep better defensive position as she gets more experienced.
In the final quarter, the Ducks continued to pour it on going up by twenty 74-54 with 4:48 to go.
Both teams went deep into their benches to end the game as the Ducks showed why they’re the #6 team in the nation. The final score was 83-54.
The takeaway from this game is that you must play forty minutes of basketball to be a top program in arguably the best women’s conference in the nation. Arizona went scoreless in the final ten minutes missing all thirteen shots.
According to Coach Barnes, Oregon isn’t one of the more physical teams in the conference, but a few hard fouls down low sent a message that the Cats didn’t respond back.
Oregon is long on defense with tall guards who cannot only shoot the lights out, but can defend by cutting down passing angles with their length.
In the end, Arizona is much improved and way ahead of the curve, but this game is a stark reminder that the journey they’re on still has bumps on the way to the top.
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