Despite a big second-half comeback, the Arizona women’s basketball team (9-5, 1-1) fell to Washington (10-3, 2-0), 76-65, in Seattle on Sunday for its first Pac-12 defeat of the season.
Senior Davellyn Whyte earned her second-consecutive double-double, this time with 17 points and 10 rebounds, after finishing with 12 points and 11 assists at Washington State on Friday. Junior Erica Barnes also posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Junior Alli Gloyd added 11 points for the Wildcats, and senior Cheshi Poston and junior Kama Griffitts chipped in 10 apiece.
Arizona got points from every player that saw the court in the first half, shooting 64 percent as a team and holding Washington to 38 percent shooting from the field. The Huskies heated up
and finished the half strong, though, outshooting the Wildcats 42 percent to 40
percent.
Washington continued that momentum after the break, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to ignite an 18-3 run that produced a 22-point lead.
Arizona fought back and went on consecutive runs of its own behind
Whyte’s 12 second-half points, narrowing the score to 70-65 with one
minute left. The Huskies went 8 for 8 from the free-throw line in the final minute, though, to close out the game.
“If we played the whole game like we played the last 12 minutes in the
second half, we win the game,” Arizona coach Niya Butts said. “But our team fought back. We
could have quit and we didn’t. And we will continue to fight and we
will be ready for our next game.”
Arizona forced 17 turnovers but struggled from the 3-point line and was outrebounded 49-40. Only Washington’s five starting players scored in the game.
Freshman Talia Walton led the Huskies with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while sophomore Jazmine Davis added 20 points and sophomore Aminah Williams grabbed 17 rebounds.
“We weren’t very aggressive offensively,” Arizona head coach Niya Butts
said. “Once we started being aggressive and attacking the rim, we got to
the foul line, and we have got to continue to do that.”
