Five players scored in double figures Friday night to lead the Arizona women’s basketball team to its first Pac-12 conference win of the season, a 71-65 victory over Washington State in Pullman, Wash.
Senior Davellyn Whyte scored 12 points and dished out 11 assists for her first double-double of the season. Whyte extended her streak of scoring in double digits to 21 games dating to February 2012.
“Davellyn’s leadership was key for us,” Arizona head coach Niya Butts said. “She took good shots, she kept her team together and she was responsible—she only had 12 points, but she was probably responsible for 40.”
Junior Alli Gloyd led the Wildcats (9-3, 1-0) with 19 points and also led the team in rebounds with eight. Junior Kama Griffitts contributed 14 points, while senior Cheshi Poston had 12 and junior Erica Barnes added 10.
Arizona’s post play was a big factors, as the Wildcats outscored the Cougars (4-8, 0-1) 38-22 in the paint.
Free throws also were key, as UA was 14 for 15 (93.3 percent) as a team, including 9 for 9 in the last minute to seal the win. Griffitts was 5 for 5 while Whyte and Gloyd both went 2 for 2.
“It was a tough game for both teams,” Butts said. “They played really well, did some good things, and we did some good things. They jumped out on us and we had to get settled down, but once we did, we started to speed them up with our defense and started creating some turnover opportunities. We made some plays, but our kids fought. We battled, stuck together and made free throws down the stretch.”
The first half was all about runs, as the Cougars jumped out to a 15-3 lead, but the Wildcats answered with a 19-2 run of their own behind Gloyd’s nine points to take a 23-17 lead. Arizona scored 18 points in the paint to Washington State’s eight in the half but was outrebounded 23-18, and Wazzu went into the locker room with a 32-31 edge.
The second half was a dogfight, as neither team led by more than five until the final minute, but Griffitts came alive late with nine points, including five free throws in the last 30 seconds, as Arizona finished off the win.
