TUCSON, Ariz. – Four players scored in double figures as the Arizona women’s basketball team defeated Longwood 86-68 on Thursday in the Wildcats' nonconference finale.
Senior Davellyn Whyte led Arizona (8-3) with a season-high 25 points. She also added six rebounds and four steals for Arizona. Junior Kama Griffitts added 21 points, junior Erica Barnes had 12 and junior Carissa Crutchfield added 10. Crutchfield also had a season-high eight assists, and senior Cheshi Poston led Arizona with 11 rebounds.
As a team, the Wildcats outrebounded the Lancers (3-7) 47-31 and scored 29 points off of 17 turnovers.
“We hit shots early,” Arizona head coach Niya Butts said. “We were able to shoot a good percentage in the first half and get a comfortable lead. We obviously got a little relaxed after that and started to do nothing defensively, allowing them to score easy baskets. We know moving forward that we can’t have that.”
Arizona came out strong in the first half, shooting 52.9 percent (18 of 34), including a 58.3 percent mark from the 3-point line. In addition, the Wildcats went 8 for 9 from the free-throw line. Griffitts had 13 points in the first half, Whyte 12 and Barnes 10.
In the second half, the Lancers went on a 12-0 run to narrow the margin, but UA held on for the win.
The Wildcats open conference play at Washington State and Washington on Jan. 4 and 6.
