The Arizona women’s basketball team spent a full week analyzing an 18-point defeat to NAU and trying to find a way to end a six-game losing streak.
So head coach Adia Barnes and her staff went back to the basics, focusing on defensive intensity and offensive unselfishness.
It worked: The Wildcats blew out New Mexico State 83-44 at McKale Center on Thursday. The crowd of 7,558, mostly kids attending the UA’s annual school day event, gave the Wildcats a boost. Freshman Marlee Kyles, who had never played in front of so many fans, said it felt like Christmas.
The Wildcats (3-6) came out attacking on both sides of the ball. They played disruptive defense — contesting shots, getting in the passing lanes, making steals and cleaning up on the boards. They out-rebounded the Aggies 44-31, resulting in 18 second-chance points. NMSU only had three second-chance points.
“We worked on defense every day, hard this week,” Barnes said. “We were aggressive on ball defense. I was happy we applied it in the game. We also played unselfish on offense. We drilled not taking contested or faded shots. We are grading every shot in games. I think last game we took 37 good and 39 bad shots. I look at good and bad shots, not makes. So, if Kat misses, yet takes open and good shots, like today, I can live with it.”
Right from the tip, which the UA won, there was a sense that Thursday’s game would be different.
JaLea Bennett muscled her way into the lane for the first basket. Bennett had 15 points in the first 11 minutes, mainly on layups and putbacks. She scored four consecutive baskets to help build a 21-8 lead.
Bennett finished with a career-high 26 points, and also grabbed seven rebounds.
“Before the game in the huddle, I said, ‘We are desperate for a win, we have the crowd on our side, let’s leave it all on the floor and get this win,’” Bennett said. “Coach told me before the game to play like I did in practice all week. Totally felt really natural, so it was a lot of fun.
“Our biggest focus was making that extra pass. It helped us a lot. Sometimes there were shots I could force, but I looked for the pass and it helped our offense flow better.”
The Wildcats took a 43-23 halftime lead and came out for the second half with the same intensity.
With a big lead, the bench players got extra minutes and experience, contributing 33 points in the Wildcats’ win.
Kyles added 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, and Lucia Alonso added 11 points — six of them coming on 3-pointers.
Walk-on Ali Reese put an exclamation point on the blowout win by scoring the Wildcats’ final basket. The points were her first of her career.
“I was so happy with that,” Barnes said. “I like the chemistry of the team. Marlee was making a conscious effort to kick back to Lindsey (Malecha) to get a three. And look at the bench when Ali scored. They were all cheering like we won the national championship.”
Rim shots
- Thursday’s defensive performance was a vast improvement from Arizona’s play during its recent losing streak. The team allowed an average of 76 points per game during the streak, which began the week of Thanksgiving in Los Angeles and ended Thursday. San Diego State entered its Dec. 3 game against the UA shooting under 40 percent from the 3-point arc, and shot 52 percent against the Wildcats. NAU averaged 38 percent from 3-point range on the season but shot 61.5 percent against the UA.
- Barnes was on her best behavior Thursday after receiving her first-ever technical foul against NAU.
- Arizona’s 83 points were the most it scored in a game since Jan. 13, 2013, when the Wildcats put up 100 against Oregon.
