Arizona couldn’t handle Texas Tech’s height Saturday night — and that was with the tallest player in women’s college basketball history sitting on the bench.
The 21st-ranked Lady Raiders routed the Wildcats 80-49 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas.
Texas Tech — one of the best defensive teams in the country — limited Arizona to its lowest point total of the season and its lowest field-goal percentage (35%).
The Lady Raiders, who played seven players who are 6 feet or taller, blocked 11 shots. The previous high for a UA opponent this season was four.
“We just have a hard time scoring,” Arizona coach Becky Burke told reporters after the game. “We're small. (It’s) hard for us to finish over the trees.
“We've got some kids that can make shots, and we've got to be able to do that at a higher level. We have a difficult time scoring over length and athleticism, but that's the Big 12 this season.”
Arizona head coach Becky Burke adjusts her offense during the third quarter against West Texas A&M in their exhibition game, Oct. 23, 2025, at McKale Center.
Texas Tech — which is off to the best start in program history at 16-0, 3-0 in the Big 12 — is about to get even bigger. The Lady Raiders just signed Nigerian Stephanie Okechukwu, who’s 7-1. She’ll be the tallest player ever in women’s college hoops when she makes her Texas Tech debut.
The Lady Raiders are a difficult opponent as is. The Wildcats — who’ve lost three straight to fall to 9-5, 0-3 — found that out first-hand.
Texas Tech nearly doubled up Arizona in the first half, outscoring the Wildcats 49-25. The Lady Raiders expanded the lead to 66-35 entering the fourth quarter. The teams tied in the final period, one of several bright spots Burke noted during her postgame news conference.
“It was, for us, really, really important to show glimpses of how we can compete with one of the top teams in this league in a tough environment,” Burke said. “And I think we did that at times. Obviously, we want to win. That's our goal. (But) it's important that we come into environments like this, against teams like this, and we show competitiveness, that we show fight, we don't quit, we don't go away.”
Arizona guard Tanyuel Welch (11) earns two points for the Wildcats during their game against New Mexico at McKale Center, Dec. 7, 2025.
Guard Tanyuel Welch was easily Arizona’s most effective player, scoring a game-high 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting. (The rest of the team shot 12 of 48 — 25%.) Welch also had a game-high nine rebounds.
Guards Mickayla Perdue (3 of 11) and Noelani Cornfield (3 of 14) didn’t shoot well from the floor, but they combined for seven steals.
Arizona’s bigs again ran into foul trouble. Daniah Trammell and Nora Francois had four fouls apiece. Achol Magot, who spent her first two seasons at Texas Tech, fouled in 10 minutes of action.
Arizona returns to McKale Center on Tuesday to host BYU (13-2, 2-1). The Cougars on Saturday handed ASU its first loss of the season, defeating the Sun Devils 71-62 in Provo.
