The Arizona women's basketball team earned a critical 66-59 win over Arizona State on Saturday to end a two-game losing streak. Arizona won its sixth straight game versus Arizona State. Jada Williams led Arizona with 18 points and seven rebounds and Breya Cunningham had 16 and seven in the victory.
Tyi Skinner led Arizona State with 19 points before fouling out and Jayln Brown scored 18, including 3-5 on three-point field goals as the Sun Devils made eight of eighteen from beyond the arc. Arizona had a huge advantage going 15-22 from the free throw line, while Arizona State made 9-14.
Arizona led for 38:28 and never trailed, but Arizona State stayed in the game until late. The Wildcats' biggest lead was 62-50 with 1:19 remaining. Arizona took a 15-6 lead in the first quarter and led 15-9 after the first 10 minutes. The Arizona lead reached 28-17 before Arizona State scored the final seven points of the half to trail 28-24 at halftime.
Arizona led by as many as eight points in the third quarter before Arizona State cut the deficit to 44-41 at the end of the period. Adia Barnes stated after the game she was concerned with how Arizona performed at the end of the quarter on Saturday. ASU scored the final three points in the first and third quarters and the final seven in the second.
Arizona State had a 9-2 run late in the fourth quarter to cut a 12-point deficit to five before two free throws by Williams iced the win. Both teams used relativity short benches with each playing four players over 30 minutes. Four players for Arizona State played at least 35 minutes with three playing 39 minutes and two all 40.
The win was critical as Arizona is listed as the fifth team out of the NCAA Tournament in the ESPN Bracketology by Charlie Creme. Arizona has a pair of huge opportunities in its next two games at number 25 Oklahoma State on Wednesday and versus TCU on February 16.