(Tucson, AZ) The Cats end their non conference schedule today with the Gauchos of the University of California Santa Barbara.
The teams have met sixteen times previously with Arizona leading the series 10-6. The last time these two teams met Zona pounded UCSB 61-34 back in November of 2014, before Coach Adia Barnes came back to Arizona.
Arizona would love nothing more than to finish the non-conference season undefeated, they currently stand at 10-0.
Earlier this season, the Gauchos beat USC 57-46, so the Cats won’t be taking anything for granted. UCSB came into today’s game at 4-7.
Arizona leads the nation in field goal percentage defense and is on a sixteen game winning streak which also leads the nation.
Barnes started Samaj Smith and Cate Reese together giving the Cats a decided edge down in the paint.
Arizona came out in a trapping defense off the inbound which paid dividends immediately.
With two minutes gone Zona was up 8-3. UCSB was shaken early by the Wildcats speed and defense.
The Gauchos settled down and came back with a pair of threes to cut the lead to 10-9. McDonald followed with a bucket.
With all the action, back and forth, Arizona only led 12-11 at the first media timeout.
The first quarter scoring was unusually low as both teams had runs but nothing sustained.
UCSB’s Coco Miller was a thorn in the Cats side starting off the second period with two threes, good court vision and passing to put the Gauchos up 18-16.
The Cats regained the lead off a McDonald trey at the 6:45 mark. This Gaucho was all that was advertised in keeping pace with the Wildcats.
Most of the remaining minutes of the quarter, both teams traded baskets until the Zona trap came back and on a 5-0 run and the Cats went into the locker room up 29-23.
Even with the size advantage, UCSB out rebounded the Wildcats 19-15. Surprisingly, Helena Pueyo didn’t attempt a shot the entire first half.
McDonald led the offense with fifteen points, but there was no other Wildcat with more than four points. Heading into PAC-12 play, Arizona will need balanced scoring to be competitive.
Out of the locker room, McDonald stole the ball and score followed by a right baseline three by Smith that brought the Arizona bench to its feet.
The 7-2 run forced the Gauchos into a timeout. A fast start in the third quarter is what Arizona needed. Two steals off inbound passes is what makes Barnes the master of adjustments knowing the right time to turn up the heat.
The lead grew to 40-25 at the four minute mark and another timeout. Zona’s ball movement was much better in the second half.
The Cat’s defense held UCSB to nine points in the third quarter most of them in the latter stages while extending the lead 46-32 with seventeen points of their own.
Trading baskets didn’t help the Gauchos in the beginning of the fourth as the Cats led 48-36 and forced UCSB into another timeout leaving them with just one down the stretch.
As the final quarter progressed, the Wildcat’s confidence grew and so did their lead culminating in a 61-42 win.
The Wildcats shot 43.1% (25-56) from the field but only 30.4% (7-23) from beyond the arc. Their three point shooting will be the key in PAC-12 games to draw their opponents out of the zone defense.
Ila Lane led the Gauchos with thirteen points on 6-9 shooting.
Just as in years past, most conference teams will zone Arizona until they show they can hit the outside shot consistently.
Although Arizona didn’t play nearly its best game, they made adjustments and the crowd always got loud at the right times.
UCSB out rebounded the Cats 31-30. On the surface, doesn’t appear to be significant, but Arizona was much taller than the Gauchos. Boxing out better will also have to improve for conference play.
The final score is deceptive in that the Wildcats had to work hard in this win and that in itself will pay dividends starting in eight days with a trip up the Ten to Tempe and in-state rival ASU on December 29th to begin the PAC-12 wars.
Attendance today was 4,498 but sounded more like 8,000. Arizona’s averaged 4,650 fans for the non-conference games. As the season gets down to business, and at least five ranked teams come into McKale, Arizona should expect up to 10,000 fans at future games.
