Aari McDonald was ready for the big matchup against Oregon on Sunday.
She got up early to prepare, taking extra shots in the gym before 7 a.m.
And it showed as she went off for 25 points, yet it wasn’t quite enough as the Wildcats couldn’t knock off the second-best team in the nation as Oregon held on to win 71-64 at McKale Center.
No. 18-ranked Arizona drops to 13-3 overall and 2-3 in Pac-12, while Oregon improves to 13-2, 3-1.
The Wildcats have now lost eight consecutive games to the Ducks.
UA lost Friday night to No. 3 Oregon State 63-61 on a last-second shot at McKale. This is the first time in UA program history that they faced two top-5 teams in the country in back-to-back games.
“The takeaway from this weekend for me is we’re not quite there,” UA coach Adia Barnes said. “We are close, but they are better teams.”
After the nail-biting loss Friday night against Oregon State that went down to the very last possession and 1.4 seconds, this game also was close in the final minute.
Sam Thomas was fouled driving to the basket and made both of her free throws to pull within three points, 67-64, but that was as close as Arizona would get.
The Wildcats would foul Sabrina Ionescu twice in the waning seconds and she made all four of her free throws for the final points.
Cate Reese was the only other Wildcat in double figures, finishing with 13 points to go with three rebounds. She drew a tough assignment, along with Semaj Smith and Dominique McBryde, of defending Ruthy Hebard. Hebard finished with 19 points (9 of 15 from the field) and 14 rebounds.
Ionescu — considered the best player in the country and the probable No. 1 pick in this spring’s WNBA draft — was held to two points and five assists in the first half.
It was Arizona’s swarming defense on Ionescu — at times double-teamed with the likes Amari Carter, Thomas, McDonald — that contained her.
In the fourth quarter Ionescu quietly picked it up and collected another triple-double with 17 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Seven of her points came from the line.
Despite two tough losses in as many days to two of the best teams in the country — and losing by a total of just nine points — Arizona is showing it belongs on the big stage.
“They’re good team,” Oregon coach Kelly Graves said. “I think anybody who’s been following college basketball knows that, so I don’t think it says anything other than that. …They’re lightning-quick at guard and they play really hard.
“They are really good basketball team … I think everybody knows that I guess if you want more verification I’ll say yeah, they’re a tremendous basketball team. That’s how hard it is in this conference. They played well this weekend and lost twice at home.”
The Wildcats took a 20-18 lead after the first quarter but were outscored 17-6 in the second to trail 35-26 at halftime.
In the last 4:35 of the second quarter, Oregon went on a 7-0 run to build on a two-point lead.
“I’m trying to forget about (the second quarter),” Barnes said. “When you have six points and eight turnovers against the No. 2 team in the country, you will not win.
“The second quarter was definitely a back-breaker for us. I mean, because every other quarter, we were even or outscored scored them. So that second quarter really, really hurt us.”
Yet, the Wildcats didn’t get down, coming back to outscore the Ducks in the third 22-18.
Arizona’s swarming defense, which got tips, altered shots and forced shot-clock violations helped the Wildcats climb back into the game.
“We know that stay in the game Oregon you have to get stops because Oregon wants to outscore you so definitely the key was to get stops,’ McDonald said. “We know they’re gonna score but you can’t give up you gotta have confidence, just trusting your defensive abilities.”
Lucia Alonso hit a 3 from the top of the key to pull UA within nine points at 49-40 at the 4:05 mark of the third. The Wildcats would force a few traveling calls and Oregon was called for a moving screen. McBryde ended the quarter making a difficult shot over two defenders and then flexing her muscles as UA cut the deficit to 53-48.
UA has lost three straight overall — all to top-10 teams — over the past eight days after a 13-0 start.
Arizona plays at Washington on Friday night and Washington State on Sunday. They know they let two possible upsets slipped from their grasp this weekend.
“They’re games we really could have won, so I think it’s just hard to put that in perspective, Barnes said. “I think when I step back, I will (be happy), but without a couple mistakes here and there, we would have beaten Oregon State. I think that we kind of dug ourselves a hole because of the second quarter so tough. It was tough to kind of come back in this game and the boards were hard.
“But I think to know we’re close and know we’re maybe another player way or a couple decisions away, it’s hard. It’s hard because I feel that we have a better chance at home. I know we’re capable of being a leading and top team in the country, but we just need to do it. And I think we will. Before the season’s over, I think we will upset a top-10 team.”
