No. 12 Arizona 'outhustled, outmanned' as Kansas stuns Wildcats 77-50

The Kansas game was circled on the calendar as soon as the Arizonan Wildcats' schedule was released in the summer.

It was the best nonconference game they would play at home until the Pac-12 season started: the first real test of the young season.

It was a battle of the unbeatens. The Jayhawks took a six-point lead into halftime and expanded on that in the second half to upset the 12th-ranked Wildcats, 77-50, at McKale Center Thursday night.

The loss ended Arizona's win streak at 23 straight nonconference games. UA's last loss came on Nov. 13, 2018, to Loyola Marymount, 66-64.

"They came in here and manhandled us," UA coach Adia Barnes said. "They had a really good game plan. They executed they made it really hard for us to do a lot of good things. They outplayed us and every sense of the way they outmuscled us inside. ... I think we got punched in the face and we were on our heels and just never could quite respond. ... We have to get better, and we're going to get better. But this was a wake up call and I think probably it's probably what we needed. Because we have not arrived and there were glaring things that we did we do every day in practice they really were exploited in the game."

Senior forward Cate Reese scored the first five points of the game, but then didn't score until there was 4:43 left in the quarter on a turnaround jumper to give UA a 17-12 lead. Nine of her 14 points came in the first half. She led all Wildcats.

Jade Loville added 13 points. They were the only Wildcats to score in double figures.

Despite it being close in the first half, UA went on scoring droughts — including the last four minutes in the first quarter and with 3:10 left in the half. The Jayhawks weren't giving any space for the Wildcats offense to get in rhythm. The result was UA scoring only five points (13% from the field) in the second quarter.

The Wildcats held Taiyanna Jackson to only four points in the first half, but she wore them down as the game went on, putting up 11 of her 19 points in the fourth quarter. She also grabbed 15 rebounds.

"I think she was alive in every half ... I mean in 32 minutes she was alive," Barnes said. "...She's a really good player. I think she's underrated definitely. I think she's one of the top posts in the country. Just with her length. She made us alter shots. We probably missed I'd say 12 layups in the first half. What I tried to remind the team was think of some of the greatest shot blockers in the country. They average, what two blocked shots per game. ... go, you don't need to alter your shot because you're going to get fouled and go to the free throw line more than statistically a blocked shot. She had us like double-pumping ... she really disrupted us around the rim."

Arizona is usually the team wearing down their opponents, but the athleticism and size of Jackson and her teammates were just too much. In the second half, Kansas outscored UA 49-28.

Even the Wildcats' open shots weren't falling. They finished shooting only 31% or 21 of 68 from the field while allowing Kansas to shoot 46%.

At times in the third quarter, it looked like UA was going to make a run. With just under six minutes left in the third quarter, Reese forced a travel, then there was an errant pass. Reese was fouled and made one of two free throws, to close the gap to 38-29. But that's about as far as it went with back-to-back UA fouls. Kansas took a 54-33 lead into the fourth.

Barnes was also waiting for the Wildcats to make that run, like they've done so many times in the past. "It just never happened. But we've also with this team never been in a situation like that. I think in the past, we just kind of had that in us. But we didn't have that in us today. I don't know why," Barnes said.

The Wildcats have a week to figure things out.

Next up is Texas Southern Wednesday at 7 p.m.