Arizona wins consecutive games for the first time in over a month

Arizona won consecutive games for the first time in over a month with a 72-62 win over Cincinnati at McKale Center on Wednesday night. Arizona won 74-59 at Kansas on Sunday. The Wildcats improved to 13-8 overall and 4-4 in the Big XII with a victory over the Bearcats on Wednesday.

Arizona won its first Big XII home game with the victory over Cincinnati on Wednesday. The Wildcats scored the first 13 points of the game and led 15-2 after one quarter. Cincinnati outscored Arizona 44-38 in the second and third quarters combined to cut the deficit to 54-46 at the end of three quarters.

Arizona outscored Cincinnati 19-16 in the fourth quarter to pull away for the 10-point win. The Wildcats led by as many as 16 points at 23-7 in the second quarter. Cincinnati pulled within 55-53 in the fourth quarter. Arizona had a 6-0 run to create more separation and had a two-possession lead for the remainder of the game.

After not playing in the first half, Skylar Jones played 17 minutes in the second half and scored 16 points to lead four Arizona players in double figures. Jada Williams had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists and Paulina Paris and Lauryn Swann were the other Arizona players in double-figures with 10 points each.

Breya Cunningham nearly had her fifth collegiate double-double with nine points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Tineya Hylton scored 25 and Jillian Hayes 20 to dominate the scoring for Cincinnati. The Bearcats fall to 11-6 overall and 3-4 in the Big XII with the loss. Arizona passes Cincinnati and Colorado to move up to eighth place in the Big XII.

In one of its biggest games this season, Arizona hosts 16th-ranked West Virginia on Saturday night. West Virginia is ranked 16th nationally with a 15-3 overall record and 5-2 in the Big XII for fifth place in the conference. Arizona is 68th in the NCAA Net Ratings as it tries to make a run for an NCAA Tournament berth.