For one last game, five seniors on the Arizona women’s basketball team played at McKale Center.
The game had a lot of meaning, especially coming off a lackluster performance in Friday night’s loss to UCLA.
Coach Adia Barnes started all five — LaBrittney Jones, Malena Washington, Lauren Evans, Dejza James, and Breanna Workman — for the first time this season. And it was a game-changer, as the Wildcats jumped out to a big lead and held on to defeat USC 67-62 Sunday.
“When I decided to do it (start all five seniors) I told my staff either this will be awesome or it will be horrendous,” said Barnes. “They played with toughness and a sense of urgency and they were physical tonight.”
Arizona finishes the regular season at 14-15 overall and 5-13 in the Pac-12. The Wildcats will be the 11th seed for the Pac-12 Tournament, and will face No. 6-seeded Oregon at 9:30 p.m. Thursday in Seattle.
The Wildcats will need another spirited effort to get past the Ducks. The intensity Sunday was dialed up on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor right from the tip-off.
“We were feeling it tonight,” said Washington, who finished with 14 points. “We got a big lead and got to do more things. We were going from the start and that freed us all up a bit.”
It didn’t take long for Washington to find her shooting hand. On three consecutive possession in the first quarter she knocked down the three to give UA a 22-6 lead. On the very next possession she drew a foul and added another point from the free-throw line.
“I was feeling it,” Washington said of her shot. “I’ve had a rough couple of games, yet never stopped believing I could hit it.”
Arizona led 24-14 after the first quarter but USC managed to cut the margin to 32-27 by halftime.
In the third quarter it was James’ turn. For four minutes, she was all over the court — taking shots, drawing a charge, getting rebounds, and oh, yeah, there was that behind-the-back pass by Washington on a fast-break that started it all off.
“I know Malena was looking for me the whole third quarter,” said James. “We all had our little moments. It was our last game at McKale and didn’t want any regrets.”
In the end as the game grew tight — the Trojans were down one, 63-62 with 15 seconds left — this was where the experience paid off. Junior JaLea Bennett made a pair of free throws to put UA up 65-62.
USC’s Courtney Jaco, who finished with 12 points, missed a three and Jones grabbed the rebound and was fouled. The senior made both for the final points.
“We made a couple of mistakes on back-to-back possessions,” said Jones, who finished with 18 points. “We turned it up a notch and it helped us get the win.”
The Wildcats finished with four players in double figures. Workman had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
