Everything was working for the third-seeded Arizona women’s basketball team in Monday afternoon’s 79-44 win over Stony Brook in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
These numbers explain how the third-seeded Wildcats earned their first tournament win since 2005. They advance to play 11th-seeded BYU on Wednesday.
58%
The Wildcats posted their best shooting performance of the season, knocking down 33 of their 57 shots (58%). Arizona opened up a 27-point lead at halftime by making 62% of their first-half shots.
It’s just the fifth time this season — and first time since Valentine’s Day — that the UA has shot over 50% from the field.
“We come out with the fire and intensity that I know we can do every day,” coach Adia Barnes said.
40
Heading into the tournament, Barnes stressed the importance of having players not named Aari McDonald step up offensively.
On Monday, they did: The Wildcats’ four other starters combined to score 40 points.
Trinity Baptiste had 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while Cate Reese added 16 points while hitting 7 of 9 shots.
“I expected Cate and Trinity to be aggressive,” Barnes said. “They were productive.”
Their big days allowed McDonald to be efficient from the field. The Pac-12 Player of the Year was 8 of 12 from the field and finished with a team-high 20 points.
17
The Wildcats were also active on defensive, forcing 25 turnovers — 17 coming on steals.
UA senior Sam Thomas tied her career-high with six steals, while three other players had three steals.
Arizona converted the forced turnovers into 25 points.
“Our goal was to force them to have 25 turnovers and we did that,” Barnes said. “We never let Stony Brook get in their offense.”
8
Arizona made eight 3-pointers, its most since the Feb. 14 win over Washington.
Helena Pueyo knocked down two of them, the first time she’s made a 3 since Feb. 12 against Washington State.
“When Helena is shooting 3s, we love it,” McDonald said. “She’s the best shooter on the team.”
38:29
Arizona led for 38:29 of the first-round contest. Stony Brook grabbed a quick 4-2 lead before the Wildcats went on a 22-6 run the rest of the quarter.
