The Arizona Wildcats couldn’t dig themselves out of an eight-point halftime deficit and fell to UCLA 58-49 in the Pac-12 Tournament semifinal Friday night.
Arizona (16-4) will now wait until March 15 — Selection Monday — to find out their seeding for the NCAA Tournament.
What happened in UA’s loss to the Bruins? These numbers tell the story:
1:16
In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats rallied from down 10 points to bring the game to within two. Aari McDonald hit a 3-pointer and Shaina Pellington got a layup to make it 49-47 with 1:16 left.
From there, Arizona couldn’t get closer. UCLA’s Michaela Onyenwere banked in a layup to go back up four and then UA forward Trinity Baptise turned the ball over. The Bruins went on to ice the game on free throws as the Wildcats missed three of their final four shots.
2
After the first quarter ended tied at 8-8, the Wildcats managed just two field goals in the second quarter. The Bruins took advantage of Arizona’s offensive struggles and shot 7 of 15 to go up 25-17 at the break.
24
Onyenwere, UCLA's senior forward, scored 24 points on 7-of-19 shooting. She also was the team’s best free throw shooter, sinking 10 of 11 from the line.
Pac-12 Player of the Year Aari McDonald also scored 24 points but started out slow, missing seven of her first nine shots of the game before heating up for 16 points in the second half.
3
The Wildcats struggled to hit 3’s Friday night, making just 3 of 17 (18%) from deep. It’s just the fifth time this season Arizona has hit under 20% of its 3’s in a game.
5
Coming off her 17-point performance in the quarterfinal game against Washington State, UA forward Trinity Baptiste put up just five points against UCLA. The senior shot 2 of 7 from the field, missing her lone 3-point attempt, and committed four turnovers.
