Opening week is all about getting your feet wet.
It didn't take long for the freshmen to show out.
Kailyn Gilbert exploded for 16 points, Maya Nnaji added 14 of her own and Lemyah Hylton snared four steals to lead No. 19 Arizona to an 87-47 victory over Cal State Northridge Sunday at McKale Center in front of 6,653 fans.
No. 19 Arizona is now 2-0, while CSUN dropped its third game of the week — all to Pac-12 opponents.
"Winning is fun," UA coach Adia Barnes said. "We've been improving. It's only our second game. ... We just have a lot to work on still. The future's bright."
Paris Clark, who made her presence known in the home opener with 10 points and six steals, didn't play in this one as she had a headache during shoot-arounds. Clark had a concussion last week and Barnes said she was being extra cautious. She hopes Clark will be back next week.
For Nnaji, it was her debut in a Wildcat uniform as she sat out Thursday with a sore knee because of tendinitis. She entered this game with 3:30 left in the first quarter. A few minutes later scored her first point on a free throw. She would go 8 of 9 from the line, where the majority of her points came. She was helping with trapping and pulling down rebounds (four — three on the defensive end) and swatted three balls in nearly 22 minutes.
Arizona's Cate Reese shoots during the first half Sunday night.
"It was like a dream come true," Nnaji said of her first game in McKale. "I've worked my whole life for this. ... I see my future here and I was just really excited to finally take the court in front of McKale fans. The atmosphere was electric. It was great to play with my my teammates out there and get the win."
Gilbert was the leading scorer and the player of the game. She went 5 for 10 from the field and grabbed three steals — two coming in the second quarter to help UA pull out to a 39-13 lead. This followed up a 10-point outing against NAU. In both games, it seems like it takes a while for Gilbert to get warmed up before scoring in bunches — nine of her points came in the second half.
"It's more so, just me feeling it," Gilbert said. "... It's just energy for me. Once one goes in, the next is going to go in. That's just my mentality. It just keeps going from there."
Hylton had two of her steals in the second quarter. These came with a minute of each other as she was getting her hands in the passing lanes, deflecting and not giving her opponent space. There were possessions where,she joined Nnaji in help defense.
"Whenever we play together we call it 'twin-tuition' because we call each other twins because we have the same name. We wear the same shoes; we love playing together and we have good chemistry on the court," Nnaji said. "We're always on the same page. ... She's a great defender. She's a great slasher. She hustles hard."
Jade Loville shoots during the first half of UA's win at McKale Center.
The defense took it up a notch from the NAU game on Thursday. There was more of that swarming and more deflections leading to disruption. Barnes said she saw better pressure on the ball and better rotation. And the Wildcats' communication is getting better as they go, but with 24 fouls, they need more discipline.
"It's positioning on the ball, footwork on close outs. Those are their habits, and it's hundreds of hours of repetition," Barnes said. "We're going to work on that because we're not in the stance a lot — we're standing up or we don't jump to the ball and then those are when your fundamentals aren't good defensively or solid, you foul."
In the first quarter UA spotted the CSUN two quick baskets, then held them scoreless for three minutes. They forced a travel and a five-second violation. CSUN would only get one more basket for the rest of the quarter.
Arizona took a 45-17 lead into halftime, holding CSUN to 34% shooting in the first half.
Three others ended up in double-figures: Esmery Martinez (15); Cate Reese (14); and Jade Loville (12). Loville and Shaina Pellington added two steals apiece.
The Wildcats finished shooting 49% and CSUN shot just 34%. UA held Tess Amundsen, who had the best 3-point percentage (49%) last season in DI to only one attempt from beyond the arc, which she missed. The Matadors only made 1 of their 16 three-points attempts and it came with 4:49 left in the third quarter.
UA expanded their lead in the third quarter, outscoring CSUN 25-14.
Next up for Arizona Loyola Marymount LMU at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Rim shots
- UA had 14 second-chance points and outrebounded CSUN 36-30.
- The Wildcats grabbed 16 steals and had six blocks.
McKale Center was built at the University of Arizona in the early 1970s. There have been updates through the years.
