No. 4 Stanford proved to be too much for the Arizona women’s basketball team Saturday, handing the Wildcats a 91-51 defeat. Arizona moved to 13-10 overall and 2-9 in Pac-12 action, while Stanford advanced to 20-1 overall and 11-0 in Pac-12 play.
Sophomore guard Candice Warthen led Arizona in scoring with 13 points.
She also had four rebounds and a steal. Senior
guard Shanita Arnold had 10 points and two assists, and freshman center Aley Rohde had nine points and 11 rebounds.
“I didn’t like the outcome, but the team did a lot of things this weekend that we really improved on,” head coach Niya Butts said. “Aley Rhode really came to play and did very well this weekend, Candice Warthen is on her way to coming back to herself, and Shanita Arnold really did a good job controlling the team and leading us in both games.
"Stanford is very good at executing and capitalizing on mistakes, and we cannot continue to have any going forward. Right now, I think that we came out ready for the second half of conference play. We are willing to fight.”
Arizona shot 29.5 percent from the field (18 for 61), 33.3 percent from 3-point range (3 for 9) and 70.6 percent from the free-throw line (12 for 17). The Wildcats gave up 13 turnovers, leading to 14 Stanford points. UA was outrebounded 47-34 but got 22 points from the bench.
The Wildcats' starting five included Arnold, freshman guard Erin Butler, Rohde, senior guard Reiko Thomas and junior guard Davellyn Whyte. Warthen had the most minutes off the bench with 32. UA also got some strong play from freshman Layana White, who had 9 points in 10 minutes, most coming in the final ticks of the game.
“Layana White plays all-out,” Butts said. “I know that I’m going to get everything she has, and when she doesn’t give it, it means she doesn’t have it.”
For Stanford, Joslyn Tinkle led the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Chiney Ogwumike also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards. The Cardinal shot 50 percent from the field (36 for 72), 32 percent from 3-point range (8 for 25) and 78.6 percent from the free-throw line (11 for 14).
“Stanford shot 50 percent, and what they missed, they got the rebounds
and made 22 second-chance points,” Butts said. “Their effort comes from a
lot of players, including the sisters, Chiney and Nnemkadi Ogwumike.
They’re extremely athletic and are just one of the many weapons
Stanford has.”
