It was a slog to the finish, but the third-seeded Arizona Wildcats survived an upset scare by No. 11-seed BYU, 52-46, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the UTSA Convocation Center in San Antonio on Wednesday to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 23 years.
The last time the UA appeared in the Sweet 16 was in 1998, when head coach Adia Barnes was a senior for the Wildcats.
Arizona will play in its second-ever Sweet 16 on Saturday against second-seeded Texas A&M. The Aggies which outlasted Iowa State 84-82 in overtime moments after the Wildcats' win. The game will tip off at 5 p.m. and air on ESPN2.
Arizona guard Shaina Pellington drives against BYU center Sara Hamson during Wednesday’s first half.
In the first quarter Arizona forced five turnovers, including four steals, but only converted four points off those turnovers, while BYU made three of its first four field-goal attempts.
The Cougars ended the first quarter only making 2 of 10 field goals, and Arizona grabbed a 12-11 lead.
Sam Thomas, fresh off tying her career-high with six steals against Stony Brook in the first round, hit her first 3-pointer of the NCAA Tournament to give Arizona a 20-15 lead. UA forward Trinity Baptiste's layup on the following possession was the only time in the first half Arizona made back-to-back field goals.
What a player pic.twitter.com/vZ4e07epiN
— Arizona Women's Basketball (@ArizonaWBB) March 25, 2021
BYU sophomore guard Shaylee Gonzales, a Phoenix-area native and the West Coast Conference's co-Player of the Year, tallied 11 points on 50% shooting and six rebounds.
Excluding Gonzales, BYU shot 6 for 22 from the field, while Arizona was 10 for 30 — 13% from 3-point range. Neither team scored in the final two minutes of the first half and went into the halftime break missing the last 13 field-goal attempts combined.
Arizona's Aari McDonald, Baptiste and forward Cate Reese each had four points, and both teams shot under 35% in the first half. As a team, the Wildcats had only two assists in the first half.
To start the second half, Arizona went on a 8-0 run behind a McDonald jumper and free-throw, Baptiste layup and Reese's 3-pointer. Reese had eight of Arizona's 14 third-quarter points. But once again, both teams shot under 34% in the third quarter and were stalemated at 37 going into the final 10 minutes.
On a steal finished with a transition layup, McDonald scored her 10th point with just under eight minutes left to play, bringing her double-figure scoring streak to 89-straight games.
BYU didn't fold under pressure and responded with a 6-0 run to grab a four-point lead at the final media timeout with just over five minutes remaining.
Coming out of the timeout break, McDonald and Thomas sunk 3s to pull the Wildcats back. McDonald put the UA at a three-point advantage, 49-46, in the final minute and the Wildcats are able to hang on at the free-throw line despite shooting 5 of 13 from the charity stripe.
McDonald finished the night with 17 points, 11 rebounds and three assists to lift Arizona down the stretch.
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