Stanford forward Cameron Brink (22) smothers a shot attempt by Arizona guard Madison Conner from the lane in the third quarter of their Pac-12 game at McKale Center on Feb. 9, 2023.

The stage was set for the biggest game of the year.

A top-20 matchup: No. 6 Stanford coming to Tucson to play No. 17 Arizona.

The game was televised on ESPN with their β€œA team” of broadcasters: Ryan Rucoco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe.

The Wildcats had momentum coming off their first sweep of the L.A. schools in Los Angeles in 21 years.

Meanwhile, the Cardinal dropped one to Washington last Sunday for their third loss of the season.

Leading up to the big matchup, UA coach Adia Barnes did something she hasn’t done in a long time: Ask the community to come out.

They responded to the tune of 9,868 β€” the largest turnout for a game this season and No. 4 on the all-time list for regular-season games.

Now, it was all about basketball.

Turns out, Stanford wasn’t about to lose two consecutive games. The Cardinal didn’t waste any time taking the lead early and dominated the Wildcats, 84-60, Thursday night at McKale Center.

Arizona fell to 18-6, 8-5 in the Pac-12, while Stanford improved to 23-3, 11-2.

Two game-losing streaks are rare for the Cardinal. It happened in February 2020 against Oregon and Arizona β€” the overtime thriller featuring Aari McDonald’s jumper with nine seconds left to secure the win. That was the only time UA has beaten Stanford in the Barnes coaching era. The Wildcats have gone on to lose the next six outings against the Cardinal.

The big question coming off playing 95 minutes in two games last weekend, then turning around for a game on Thursday β€” instead of the usual Friday night β€” was if the Wildcats had much left in the tank.

Barnes said emphatically that that was not an excuse. Both teams played on Sunday, and even if the Wildcats were tired, they could have done the little things that would have made a big difference. Instead, Arizona just didn’t have the effort.

β€œThey controlled every aspect of the game, offensively, defensively,” Barnes said. β€œWe had a tough time scoring. A tough time defending. It was just rough.

β€œI knew that Stanford would be ready, because after the loss (to UW), I’m sure Tara (VanDerveer) was on them and they were they weren’t going to lose the game. That’s how they played. But we just kind of died. And I think we didn’t show a tremendous amount of effort until the last six minutes.”

Arizona forward Cate Reese can’t get to the inlet pass for Stanford center Lauren Betts in the second quarter of their Pac-12 game at McKale Center on Feb. 9, 2023.

Arizona entered the fourth quarter down 62-37. Stanford went on a 14-0 run over a four-minute stretch. The Wildcats found a way to finish on a 15-2 run in the last 1:45 of the game.

Barnes used a possible lineup of the future featuring all four freshmen β€” Paris Clark, Maya Nnaji, Lemyah Hylton and Kailyn Gilbert β€” and sophomore Madi Conner.

Clark finished with 10 points, four assists, two steals and a block.

β€œI saw effort and I saw tenacious defense (from Clark). I saw energy,” Barnes said. β€œShe had fight and she was alive.”

Esmery Martinez and Cate Reese also finished with 10 points each. Martinez’s all came in the first half. Reese now moves into third place on UA’s all-time field goals made list with 718, passing McDonald, who had 717.

Stanford got out to a hot start as UA had no answer for Haley Jones, one of the best players in the country. She and Fran Belibi combined to score 11 of Stanford’s 21 points in the first quarter.

Jones would finish with a double-double (18 points, 12 rebounds) along with six assists, one block and a steal. Cameron Brink also finished with 18 points. She pulled down eight rebounds and had two blocks after not blocking a shot in her last game.

UA forced eight Stanford turnovers in the first half, scoring nine points off them. The Cardinal had a total of 17 turnovers, which the Wildcats turned into 16 points. Helena Pueyo had a team-high three steals.

The Cardinal took a 38-27 lead into halftime. They held UA to 35% shooting while knocking down 57% of their shots.

β€œWe have to find a way to get back to the basics,” Barnes said. β€œThings that aren’t acceptable for the Arizona identity is after a free throw giving up a layup. That’s not acceptable. (Not) sprinting back. Those things are not acceptable. We have to get better, and we will.

β€œThe thing is not losing the game. It’s about the fight and the effort. You may miss shots, but the effort β€” things like mishaps in transition. Those are things that you don’t want to accept at home. Not trapping when we’re supposed to. Not pressing when we’re supposed to.

β€œIt’s just embarrassing today to be at home and have (nearly) 10,000 fans, a β€˜red out,’ we’re calling fans to the game, and then we don’t fight. That’s not acceptable. I do apologize to all the fans, for us not fighting a little bit more. It’s one thing losing, but not in the manner that we lost at home.”

Stanford outrebounded Arizona 45-27.

Rim shots

The first NCAA Tournament reveal was held at halftime. If the tournament were held today, these 16 teams would host: South Carolina, Indiana, Stanford, UConn, LSU, Utah, Iowa, Duke, Maryland, Notre Dame, Michigan, Texas, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Villanova and Ohio State.

Thursday marked the first time former UA standouts McDonald and Sam Thomas were in McKale together and not playing. McDonald was on UA’s bench as director of recruiting, while Thomas was in floor seats watching the game. Both play professionally β€” McDonald for the Atlanta Dream, while Thomas signed another training-camp contract with the Phoenix Mercury this past week. She is also playing overseas in Italy.

McKale Center was built at the University of Arizona in the early 1970s. There have been updates through the years.

Become a #ThisIsTucson member! Your contribution helps our team bring you stories that keep you connected to the community. Become a member today.

Contact sports reporter PJ Brown at pjbrown@tucson.com. On Twitter: @PJBrown09