The University of Arizona women’s basketball team has already faced several challenges this season, and another one presented itself Wednesday night at McKale Center.
Could the Wildcats finish? Could they hang on in a close game and pull it out?
UA fought through two overtimes to notch its fourth victory of the season, beating Southern Utah 76-74.
And it really was a fight, with players disrupting passing lanes, diving for steals and trading baskets.
It came down to one player getting her shooting groove back: senior Kat Wright.
Coming out of a timeout, Wright inbounded the ball to JaLea Bennett who passed it back and Wright hit the game-winning three in the second overtime.
The Wildcats go into the Christmas break 4-7.
“We didn’t want to lose with four days off for break,” said Wright. “We didn’t want to sit on a loss. It was not an option.”
The play wasn’t originally drawn up for Wright, it was a play for Bennett, who was covered.
“JaLea did a good job of not forcing the shot,” said UA coach Adia Barnes. “She kicked it out to an open Kat. Her three was huge.”
Wright scored 18 points and went 4 of 9 from beyond the arc.
It seemed like whenever they need a big shot, Wright was there.
“The reason why I felt it was that I looked to attack first,” said Wright of her big night. “Previously I was forcing my threes and knew if I added another piece to my game, it would help.”
After a slow first quarter for the Wildcats, scoring six points (21 percent), Wright started a 14-4 run in the second quarter with a mid-range jumper at the 6:50 mark.
She also got the Wildcats going in the third quarter with a layup and a 3-pointer.
With 30 seconds left in the third quarter, UA took a lead and held on until less than 10 seconds in the game, when Kiana Johnson hit two free throws to tie the game at 57 to send it into overtime.
UA freshman Marlee Kyles was seen an hour-and-a-half before the game taking extra shots. It helped as she scored 10 points —two of her biggest coming at the beginning of the second overtime to give the Wildcats a 69-67 lead and another, a buzzer-beating jumper at the end of the third quarter to give the Wildcats a 48-45 lead.
“Marlee is a freshman and she’s going to have games where she goes 0 for 9 (like against Hawaii),” said Barnes. “But it’s how she responds. Marlee showed growth and made good decisions tonight and was unselfish.”
During that first quarter, the Wildcats played that swarming, disruptive defense, to stay close. The T-birds were held to 30 percent shooting. For the game, they shot just 41 percent.
Destiny Graham scored 15 points and Bennett led all scorers with 20 points.
“We played with fouls and played tough down the stretch and it showed character,” said Barnes. “They were calm, even though it was stressful. I am happy to get this win. It’s an important win for a young team.”
Rim shots
Sylvia Hatchell of North Carolina and Geno Auriemma of UConn joined an elite club of college coaches who have won 1,000 games Tuesday. Other members are Pat Summitt, Tara VanDerveer and Mike Krzyzewski.
Auriemma, who is joined by his long-time assistant, Chris Dailey, has a connection to the Wildcats — assistant Morgan Valley, who played at UConn from 2000-04 and appeared in four Final Fours, winning three National Championships.
“They never set out to do this and it’s amazing,” Valley said. “It’s who they are, what they do every day, and all this just happened along the way. What I carry with me is the way they do things.
“I don’t think this will happen again. The game has changed so much — with how competitive it is and the money. It’s so impressive. These people have been at places for 30-plus years and that doesn’t happen anymore.”
