Before Saturday night, Derin Erdogan hadn’t scored since Jan. 30. Hadn’t attempted a shot since then, either.
Yet there Erdogan was, sinking a jumper and snaking for a layup early in Arizona’s 72-67 win over UNLV in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in McKale Center. There she was, playing pressing defense at point guard and picking up some valuable minutes on a night when the Wildcats needed something — anything — to provide a spark.
There she … just … was. Playing hard and being a pest while the Wildcats struggled through another slow start.
Her five minutes mattered.
“Derin earns her minutes every day in practice,” senior Sam Thomas said. “Derin did a great job coming in today giving us some quick points, playing defense, giving Shaina (Pellington) a little breather and kind of give us that spark off the bench that we needed to get out of the lull that we were in."
With Arizona trailing 20-18 two minutes into the second quarter, Erdogan pulled a jumper that was pure, erasing a UNLV lead that had held for all but the first 100 seconds. Baskets from Nneka Obiazor and Desi-Rae Young gave UNLV a 24-20 lead when Erdogan drove and nailed a layup to cut the lead to two points. The Wildcats were trailing by five in the final seconds of the third quarter — they’d erase that deficit in a flash on the way to a relatively easy win — when Erdogan fired a 3-pointer that just missed.
Erdogan was also responsible for one very big assist. With Pellington struggling on defense and backup Helena Pueyo ineffective — she played four minutes, missing her only shot attempt — UA coach Adia Barnes looked down the bench with 6:13 left before halftime and found Erdogan. Barnes knew the Turkish sophomore was tough — you have to be to battle Pellington in practice every day — and had a hunch she wouldn’t shrink in the tournament spotlight. Erdogan’s last basket came at No. 2-ranked Stanford, after all.
“I know what I’m going to get from Derin,” Barnes said. “That’s how you earn a few more minutes the next time. She gives it her all every single day and just gets better.”
Erdogan stuck the deep jumper, riling up the McKale Center crowd. Then she hit a driving layup, keeping the Wildcats close.
Pellington re-entered the game with 2:34 left before halftime, and played with a newfound defensive drive. She finished with 30 points and four steals, burying UNLV as much with her defense as any layup or 3-pointer.
“You see that? She played harder," Barnes said of Pellington. "Sometimes, some of those subs are strategic."
For a team that prides itself on balance, Arizona played an awful lot on Saturday like the Aari McDonald-led squad of last year. Pellington and Cate Reese combined to score 46 of the team’s 72 points. Lauren Ware chipped in nine points; no other player scored more than five.
But Barnes did her best to spread things around. Madi Conner played 19 minutes off the bench. Koi Love played 14 minutes, and freshmen Netty Vonleh and Gisela Sanchez combined for five. Vonleh would have played more, Barnes said, had she not picked up two personal fouls and paid closer attention to the scouting report.
"They're freshmen, and they're the future, and they both have a tremendous amount of potential," Barnes said.
The past indicated the Erodgan’s present would be a night spent on the bench. Consider: Since scoring two points at Stanford on that Jan. 30 afternoon, Erdogan:
• Played 2:46 at Oregon on Feb. 4, posting a statline of all zeros;
• Logged 5:11 against Arizona State on Feb. 13, grabbing one offensive prebound, picking up a foul and committing one turnover;
• Played 1:01 against UCLA on Feb. 24, failing to register a stat.
It's likely that Erdogan will play even more moving forward. Perhaps as soon as Monday night, when the Wildcats take on fifth-seeded North Carolina with the winner advancing to the Sweet 16.
“She will earn more minutes,” Barnes said. “I don’t know when and how, but she will. And I’ll find them, because I like what she does.”
