As expected, Thursday’s Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinal matchup between No. 5 seed Colorado and No. 4 seed Arizona was not pretty.
The teams slogged through much of the game.
But in the last eight minutes, it got much more exciting. The Wildcats climbed back into the game with a 10-0 run in a span of 1 minute, then — after giving the lead back up — had a chance to win on the game’s final play.
Shaina Pellington’s 3-pointer went wide, however, and the No. 14-ranked Wildcats lost 45-43 to the Buffaloes.
It wasn’t quite the shot that Arizona coach Adia Barnes drew up in the huddle. The coach said “there wasn’t enough time to make that shot.”
“We had a guard coming off a stagger and I think Taylor (Chavez) was open, but that’s a difficult situation … But the way we were shooting the 3, at the end, an open 3 would have been difficult to make today,” Barnes said. “They were tighter to Sam (Thomas) and Taylor but leaving Shaina open, which is hard against the zone.”
Arizona hit just 2 of its 24 3-point attempts. As Pellington’s would-be winner sailed through the air, Colorado’s players were hoping it wouldn’t fall.
“It was a prayer — I prayed it didn’t go in,” Jaylyn Sherrod said after the game.
Of course, Thursday’s game wasn’t won or lost in that last seconds. UA had a chance to break it wide open in the second quarter when it went on a 9-0 run, but the Buffs came back and took a 24-22 lead into halftime.
Arizona forced 21 Colorado turnovers, but couldn’t get things going offensively. The Wildcats shot 25% from the field.
“I felt like it was just one of those days for us,” Chavez said. “The majority of us, especially Sam and I, played here last year. I don’t think we shot that poorly in the past. Some days just go like that.”
Chavez, Thomas and Conner were a combined 1 for 16 from the field. Pellington and Thomas each hit one 3-pointer.
Arizona forward Lauren Ware falls back after going up for a rebound during Thursday’s game.
Bright spots
It took Chavez just a few seconds to make an impact in the fourth quarter.
The Oregon transfer grabbed two steals, was fouled and hit two free throws and dished an assist to Koi Love, who scored on a layup to bring UA to within one point, 38-37.
Chavez finished with two points, two assists, one rebound and three steals in 17 minutes.
“She’s smart, so she’s easy to trust in those situations,” Barnes said.
Lauren Ware had another big performance, tallying a career-high 15 points, eight rebounds, one assist, two blocks and one steal. She put up a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) in Saturday’s win over USC.
“She’s confident; she’s playing a lot of minutes,” Barnes said. “She’s blocking shots, she’s protecting the rim. I think it’s been more aggressive because she knows that we need her to be. I think she’s stepped up tremendously and I just can’t wait to have her and Cate together, I think but I think this is a good experience for Lauren and I think it’s going to definitely pay off.”
Ware played 34 minutes on Saturday and 35 on Thursday. Both are also career highs.
“For a big girl to play (that many) minutes, that’s a lot,” Barnes said of Ware’s minutes. “It’s funny … it’s better we don’t have a game right now so she can rest her body.”
Colorado forward Mya Hollingshed blocks a shot by Arizona guard Helena Pueyo.
Next up, NCAA Tournament
Arizona went into Thursday’s game as a likely No. 3 seed. The NCAA Tournament’s latest top-16 reveal had Arizona listed No. 11 nationally — meaning they would host the first two rounds.
Now?
“We deserve that 4 seed,” Barnes said.
“We’re not healthy right now, but we put our work in the whole year,” she added. “We have an incredible environment where I’d be shocked if we didn’t sell out, which is really good for our game. We’re a good team.
“We’ve had some bad losses lately, but we beat some really good teams throughout the year. The first one I can name is Louisville, but there’s a list of them. We deserve to be in the tournament. We deserve a seed. … We will have Cate (Reese) back. We deserve a good seed, and we deserve to play at home. And I think the committee will recognize and see that. Those are some really smart people. think they know what to do, and they will do the right thing.”
Rim Shots
ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne announced Thursday that she is retiring after 25 years in charge. Barnes called her in-state rival “a really good coach and a trailblazer in our profession.”
“I love the fact that she does so many other things. She’s a mom, and she’s successful,” Barnes said. “She represents our game so well. She’s been a WBCA president, so she’s very involved in our game. So sad to see her go for sure. … It’s a blessing to be able to do this job but it’s a lot. It’s never ends, you never have an offseason, so it would be good for her to have a chance to spend some time with their family. Congrats on a great career, Charli.”
