No. 15 Arizona Women’s Basketball tops No. 18 Oregon

TUCSON, AZ – Despite trailing at the half, a big second half by No. 15 Arizona Women’s Basketball (14-2, 4-1) helped the Cats beat No. 18 Oregon 12-4, 3-2).

Fresh off of a big win over Oregon State on Friday evening in which No. 15 Arizona Women’s Basketball had to rally, the Wildcats were back in action inside the friendly confines of the McKale Center to resume Pac-12 play.

Taking on a talented Oregon team in front of a rowdy crowd, Arizona fell behind early yet again, but a strong second half by the Wildcats helped propel Arizona to the 79-71 win.

Arizona’s offense was solid in this one, as collectively, the team shot an impressive 40.3 percent from the field, including 50.0 percent from three.

Madison Conner was instrumental off the bench, scoring a team-high, 16 points while shooting 3-4 from the field and 3-3 from three. Conner was also a perfect 7-7 from the charity stripe!

Beyond that, four different Wildcats finished in double-figures as Shaina Pellington, Jade Loville, Emery Martinez, and Cate Reese all finished with 14 points, 13 points, 11, and 10 respectively. Pellington had a game-high six assists.

Despite No. 18 Oregon’s lead at the half, No. 15 Arizona Basketball used a big second half to rally and beat the Ducks.

This one did not start in Arizona’s favor, as from the tip, the Ducks jumped out to a 25-19 lead after the first quarter of play.

Luckily, the Wildcats would respond in the second quarter, using a stifling defense that led to transition offense as Arizona slowly chipped away at Oregon’s lead outscoring the Ducks 15-10 in the second quarter to trail 35-34 at halftime.

Hoping to continue their momentum, the Wildcats’ offense came alive in the third quarter, as big shots will fall for the Cats, and allowed Arizona’s offense to explode for 20 points. Despite Oregon’s push at the end, Arizona led 52-52 after three.

Looking to close things out strong, Arizona looked great in the fourth. Despite trailing 55-54 with 9:12 to play, the Wildcats used the energy from McKale to rally to take the lead at 56-55.

Oregon would regain the lead again at 63-62 just moments later, but stifling defensive helped fuel the Wildcats as Arizona outscored the Ducks 17-8 over the final 4:41 to come away with the 79-71 win. Arizona ended the game on a 6-0 run!

With the win, the Wildcats improve to 14-2 (4-1) on the season and will resume basketball action on Friday when they take on Colorado in Boulder. Arizona will then follow that up with a game against Utah on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off against the Buffaloes on Friday is set for 7:00 PM MST.

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