Cate Reese scores 17, finishes strong as 10th-ranked Wildcats outlast Wazzu in McKale Center

Arizona really wanted Friday night's game. And who could blame them?

Last month in Pullman, the Wildcats lost a close one to Washington State in overtime, 71-69.

Given a chance at revenge Friday night, Arizona ensured that the win wouldn't slip away.

Sam Thomas, Helena Pueyo look back on Arizona's 'revenge' win over Washington State

When it mattered the most in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats turned to Cate Reese. The forward scored 17 points, nine coming in the fourth quarter, and hit 7 of 8 free throws to give Arizona a 60-51 victory at McKale Center.

The 10th-ranked Wildcats extended their winning streak to five games. The team is 11-2 in Pac-12 play for the first time ever.

The win was satisfying, in part because Wazzu is so dangerous.

"They're the team that is here to upset a lot of other great teams — ranked teams — so it’s just nice we were able to take care of business this time,” UA forward Sam Thomas said.

Pretty outlet pass by @Helena_Pueyo6 and the finish through contact by @s_thomas14 💪📺 @Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/noOhUMiUGX
— Arizona Women's Basketball (@ArizonaWBB) February 13, 2021

In their last six games before Friday, the Wildcats had held their opponents to an average of 51.5 points per game while forcing and average of 19.8 turnovers.

The UA held WSU to 51 points and 20 turnovers — 15 of them steals. Thomas had five steals, Helena Pueyo had four and Aari McDonald had three.

Part of the plan was to get the ball out of the hands of the Leger-Walker sisters — Krystal and Charlisse — and into the hands of players who weren't as good at taking care of the rock.

“I think just using those traps and trying to tip a little bit, reach a little bit, try and get the ball out of their hands and then put the ball in some other people's hands who might not be as great ball handlers and then try and get those steals from either their passes or off the dribble,” Thomas said.

UA held a 44-42 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Then Reese took over, scoring as many points on her own (nine) as Washington State had as a team.

In doing so, Reese found her touch again following a 25-point outburst in Monday’s win over No. 11 Oregon.

“They were a little slow in transition defense, so we were able to move the ball real quick and then hit Cate real fast in the post,” Thomas said. “Then obviously they were switching a lot so when she had those mismatches, we were able to throw the ball in there and feed her.”

UA shut down the Cougars, holding them to three points in the first six minutes of the frame.

021321-spt-ua wbk-p13.jpg — Arizona guard Aari McDonald (2) finds her way to the basket blocked by Washington State forward Ula Motuga (15) in their Pac12 game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., February 12, 2021.
Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

The Wildcats out-rebounded Wazzu 43-35.

The third quarter was ugly as WSU out-scored UA 9-5. Arizona shot just 2 of 19 from the field, while WSU was 5 of 13.

McDonald scored the first seven points for UA. Ware scored on a put back on what is becoming her signature turnaround jumper — the only other Wildcat to put points up in the first five minutes of the game. Ware followed that with a layup.

The rest of the quarter was back and forth with WSU taking a one-point lead, 19-18, at the turn.

Barnes said she didn’t think the Wildcats were as “sharp from the get-go.”

“It was like a track meet the first couple minutes of the game and I said, ‘Oh, we got to slow down,’” Barnes said. “Like we do not boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. I think it's just a long week playing on Monday, then Friday. It's not an excuse. I think we went two-and-a-half weeks without a game then we come in like we're going to have three this week. I think it was just we were just a little too wound up in the beginning of the game. But Washington State's a really good team. They're hard to guard.”

The Wildcats started to pull away in the second quarter, going on mini-runs of 6-0 and 9-5.

Watch: Adia Barnes discusses Arizona's win over Washington State at McKale Center

McDonald leaped for a defensive rebound and ran the length of the floor to give UA a 26-23 lead with 5:10 left in the half. Ware followed with a putback. During a five-minute stretch, UA had five takeaways. The Wildcats finished with 10 in the first half.

The very next possession, Pueyo grabbed a steal and found McDonald, who dished up giving it up to a trailing Reese, who drew a foul.

Next up it was Shaina Pellington’s turn to get into the action. She ended up on the floor with a steal, passed it to Reese who dished it back to Pellington for the layup off the glass, giving UA a 32-26 lead with 3:15 left. Pellington finished with seven points.

021321-spt-ua wbk-p12.jpg — Arizona forward Sam Thomas (14) slices between Washington State forward Ula Motuga (15) and on guard Grace Sarver (20) on her way to the bucket in their Pac12 game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., February 12, 2021.
Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

With seconds left in the half, McDonald drained a three-pointer to take a 39-31 lead into halftime. This gave McDonald 12 points — securing her 81st consecutive game scoring in double figures, which is the longest active streak in the nation. McDonald finished with 14 points on just 5-of-21 shooting.

Next up, Arizona (13-2, 11-2 Pac-12) hosts Washington (5-10, 2-10 Pac-12) Sunday at noon at McKale Center. The Wildcats will hold a Senior Day for McDonald, Thomas and Trinity Baptiste in what is their final scheduled home game of the season.

Rim shots

• Freshman Marta Garcia (sprained ankle) will likely be out for a few more games.

• Thomas finished with seven points while shooting 3 of 4 from the field.

• Six-time Pac-12 freshman of the week Charlisse Leger-Walker picked up two fouls in the first 30 seconds of the game; her third came before halftime. She finished with 19 points on 7 of 18 shooting.