A jumper with 14 seconds to play by sophomore forward Erica Barnes and outstanding defensive pressure by freshman guard Layana Whyte gave the Arizona women’s basketball team a 58-56 win at Oregon State on Saturday.
The Cats improved to 13-4 overall and 2-3 in Pac-12 play with the win, while Oregon State fell to 11-6 overall and 2-4 in conference action.
Barnes led all scorers with 18 points, going 7 for 15 from the field and
4 for 5 from the free-throw line. She also collected her seventh double-double
of the season by pulling down 11 rebounds. Barnes rounded out her stat line with two
blocks, one assist and one steal in 40 minutes of play. On the defensive
end, she held Oregon State’s leading scorer, Earlysia Marchbanks, to
zero points and two turnovers.
Arizona also got double-digit scoring efforts from senior guard Shanita
Arnold and junior guard Davellyn Whyte, who each had 15 points. Whyte
also grabbed seven rebounds, handed out six assists and had three
steals in 40 minutes of play. Arnold had three assists, one rebound and
one steal in 36 minutes of play.
“We had a couple of tough possessions, and I could see us getting deflated,” head coach Niya Butts said. “What a great job Layana White did for us. Her energy was outstanding, and she gave us a great lift off the bench. We couldn’t get stops, and they were killing us driving to the paint.
"Overall, I think our team played really well down the stretch. We didn’t panic and we had some huge baskets from some key people.”
Arizona shot 36.2 percent from the field (21 for 58), 36.8 percent from behind the arc (7 for 19) and 90 percent from the free-throw line (9 for 10). The Beavers picked up 15 points off of 15 UA turnovers but managed only three fast-break points. Arizona had eight second-hance points but was outrebounded 39-36.
The starting five for the Wildcats included Arnold, Barnes, freshman guard Erin Butler, freshman center Aley Rohde and Whyte. Junior guard Lindsey Fearing had the most minutes off the bench with 22 and had three points and two assists.
For the Beavers, Alyssa Martin was the leading scorer with 15 points. Ali Gibson led Oregon State on the glass with eight rebounds.
Oregon State shot 40.7 percent from the field (24 for 59), 16.7 percent from 3-point range (2 for 12) and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe (6 for 9).
