It took the Arizona Wildcats a full quarter to get into rhythm, but once they did, No. 11-ranked UA wore down Marist to win going away 78-36 from McKale Center on Friday night.
Trailing 14-12 after the first quarter, the Wildcats outscored Marist 46-13 in the second and third quarters combined to take a commanding 58-27 lead into the final frame. UA forward Sam Thomas, who had shot 2 of 9 the last two games, recorded a team-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
“We didn’t start the game off really sharp from the beginning, but I thought after that this was a really good team win,” Arizona coach Adia Barnes said.
Marist, an NCAA Tournament team a year ago, gave the Wildcats fits early on as UA’s 12 first-quarter points were the second-fewest it has scored in a quarter this season. Arizona had as many turnovers (four) as it did made shots.
“(Marist) runs a lot of stuff that’s difficult to guard, so I thought we did a really good job of sticking with it,” Barnes said.
The Wildcats tightened up their play in the second quarter, going on a 12-2 run to open the period. Arizona’s defense opted to switch in a full-court press during stretches of the second quarter, forcing four turnovers.
“I think we picked up our intensity,” UA guard Shaina Pellington said. “We talked about it during that first timeout. Have a bit more fight and we made some adjustments.”
University of Arizona’s women’s basketball forward, Lauren Ware celebrating her three-pointer against the Marist Red Foxes at McKale Center on Nov. 19, 2021.
A Madison Conner 3-pointer at 5:39 in the second made it 24-16 for UA and the lead grew to 32-22 at halftime. The team’s offense emphasized ball movement during the quarter as seven different Wildcats made a shot as Arizona went 8 of 15 (53%) from the field.
Arizona wasted no time extending its lead and went on a 10-2 run out of the break. A Lauren Ware 3-pointer started the scoring in the third quarter and was followed by a Thomas fast-break layup, a Pellington 3-pointer and a Cate Reese layup off a turnover.
After a basket from Marist, back-to-back 3s from Thomas and Conner put Arizona up 48-25 at 3:34 in the third. Bendu Yeaney ended the quarter on a buzzer-beater 3; she went a perfect 3 for 3 beyond the arc and finished with 11 points.
“I think she’s coming into a significant role,” Barnes said of Yeaney. “She’s worked on her shot, she’s worked on her handles and she’s playing with a lot of confidence.”
Ware had nine points on an efficient 3-of-4 shooting, including two 3-pointers. Junior forward Koi Love came in off the bench and tied Ware with nine points and also added a team-high nine rebounds.
“I think the versatility we have (with our bigs) is great,” Pellington said. “I’m not surprised about how well they’re doing right now. They’re very talented.”
The Wildcats shot 19 of 38 (50%) from the field in the second half as they ran away with the win. They finished the game 31 of 66 (47%) from the field and 11 of 24 (46%) from 3.
Arizona now plays its next four games away from McKale, including a three-game stretch next week in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam event. The Wildcats will play Vanderbilt, DePaul and Rutgers. The first game is against Vanderbilt on Thanksgiving.
Rim shots
Entering Friday, the Wildcats ranked fifth among Division I women’s basketball team’s in average attendance (6,208).
Friday night’s announced attendance was 6,787.
Barnes and the rest of the UA coaching staff wore “Lino Strong” T-shirts in dedication to Lino Cordova, a 20-year-old friend of Barnes’ who has been battling leukemia since he was 8 years old.
No. 11 Arizona 78, Marist 36
MARIST (2-2)
Bailey 2-8 0-0 4, Demember-Shazer 1-9 2-2 5, Ellison 2-8 2-4 7, Fisher 1-9 0-0 3, Krick 4-7 0-0 8, Bonilla 0-3 0-0 0, Boylan 0-2 0-0 0, Cunningham 1-2 1-2 3, Fox 1-2 0-0 2, Rife 0-0 0-0 0, Wax 2-5 0-0 4, Team 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 14-55 5-8 36
ARIZONA (4-0)
Reese 2-7 1-2 5, Thomas 5-8 2-2 14, Ware 3-4 1-2 9, Pellington 3-4 0-0 7, Yeaney 4-6 0-0 11, Copeland 0-2 0-0 0, Love 4-9 1-1 9, Smith 1-3 0-0 2, Asi 0-0 0-0 0, Chavez 1-4 0-0 3, Conner 2-5 0-0 6, Pueyo 1-3 0-0 2, Erdogan 0-1 0-0 0, Sanchez 2-4 0-0 4, Vonleh 3-6 0-2 6, Team 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 31-66 5-9 78
Marist 14 8 5 9 — 36
Arizona 12 20 26 20 — 78
3-Point Goals—Marist 3-19 (Bailey 0-4, Demember-Shazer 1-2, Ellison 1-4, Fisher 1-4, Krick 0-1, Bonilla 0-1, Boylan 0-1, Fox 0-1, Wax 0-1), Arizona 11-24 (Reese 0-1, Thomas 2-4, Ware 2-3, Pellington 1-2, Yeaney 3-3, Copeland 0-1, Chavez 1-3, Conner 2-5, Pueyo 0-1, Erdogan 0-1). Assists—Marist 7 (Fisher 2), Arizona 19 (Pellington 4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Marist 27 (Team 4-7), Arizona 53 (Vonleh 5-6). Total Fouls—Marist 7, Arizona 12. Technical Fouls_None. A_6,787.
