Oregon coach Kelly Graves, left, and Arizona coach Adia Barnes talk before tipoff of Friday's game in McKale Center. It was the first meeting between the two since a contentious overtime game in Eugene on Jan. 15.
Arizona forward Sam Thomas gets tied up by Oregon guard Maddie Scherr as they scramble for a loose ball during Friday's game in McKale Center. Thomas finished with four of the Wildcat's nine steals.
The anticipation for Friday nightβs game between Arizona and Oregon built up for three weeks.
The eighth-ranked Wildcats wanted to avenge last monthβs loss in Eugene after they blew a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter and lost in overtime.
Their fans, meanwhile, wanted to give Kelly Graves an earful following a reported dust-up between the Oregon coach and Arizonaβs Adia Barnes.
The regular-season-record crowd of 10,413 packed McKale Center on Friday booed Graves when Oregon took the court, then cheered loudly for the Wildcats the rest of the way. Arizona used a red-hot third quarter to beat the 19th-ranked Ducks, 63-48. They Wildcats (16-3, 6-3 Pac-12) will host Oregon State on Sunday.
βI feel like we definitely had something to prove obviously because we lost to them the last matchup, but to feed off of what Adia said, we just wanted to take this game and just execute the gameplan,β said senior point Shaina Pellington, who finished with seven points, four assists and two rebounds. ββ¦ It was just another game. We still had the same gameplan to execute and thatβs what we tried to do. Tonight, we were more successful than last time.β
Oregon asked for extra security for Fridayβs rematch, but it wasnβt needed. Barnes and Graves talked on the court for about a minute before tipoff; at the end, Barnes put her arm around him. It was a change from the scene in Oregon, where UA players say Graves yelled at Barnes. Barnes responded in kind, and apologized following the overtime loss for losing her cool.
βI think a lot of stuff was blown out of proportion,β Barnes said Friday. βWeβre competitors and you may say something I donβt like (or) I may say something, but thatβs the difference I think in former athletes like us when youβre a competitor. I think when you are a pro player, you can go at it and get mad, but then youβre not mad the next day you are like whatever. You can argue on the court.
βI think itβs different when you play, and you play at a high level you donβt take stuff personal. Iβve been called a lot of bad things in a lot of different ways. And I really donβt care.
βI think thereβs just a mutual respect. I respect Kelly. I think heβs done a great job with Oregon. I think heβs a good coach. And he does a good job. But weβre competitive and itβs something where I donβt take it personally, he doesnβt take it personally. We donβt care. We wished each other luck and talked about the crowd and stuff. There are no hard feelings. Iβm just not really like that.β
The players seemed to take a note from their coaches in a physical but otherwise clean game.
Arizonaβs Sam Thomas and Oregonβs Nyara Sabally got tangled up under the Ducksβ basket and fell to the ground early in Fridayβs third quarter. Thomas got to her feet, then helped Sabally up. As the two ran together to get back in the action, Thomas placed a helpful arm around her opponent.
Arizonaβs famous fans
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley tweeted Friday night that she was watching the game. Itβs this kind of support from other coaches that means a lot to Barnes.
βWhen you develop friendships with people you trust β youβre not recruiting against each other so you can talk basketball and you kind of go through the same things in different ways,β Barnes said. βIt helps that Dawn is there for me and gives me great advice. I can rant or I can complain about something, and I know I know my secretβs good with her. I respect her and I love what sheβs doing, and I want to do that.
βAnother person that does that for me is (Stanford coach) Tara (VanDerveer). I do something wrong sheβll call me and tell me. I love that because I love the fact that weβre competing against each other in the Pac-12, but thereβs a respect and thereβs support and help. Most people arenβt like her or like Dawn. I think that those women are the women that changed the game. Theyβre the trailblazers in the game and I respect those women.β
Defensive prowess
Thomas showed Friday just why she is one of the best defenders in the country.
One the first defensive possession of the second half, Thomas she broke up a pass. Next, she blocked a shot, fell on the court with the ball in her hands and the awareness to pass the ball to teammate Koi Love.
Thomas spent most of the night trapping and forcing the Ducks to throw bad passes. She played 29 minutes of disruptive defense, finishing with four of Arizonaβs nine steals. The Wildcats scored 22 points off Oregonβs 21 turnovers.
Rim shots
The Wildcats were led offensively by Cate Reese, who scored 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting while playing just 21 minutes. Lauren Ware had nine points on 4-of-8 shooting, and delivered an impressive 3-pointer from the top of the key. Love put up eight points and a team-high nine rebounds. Madi Conner hit a pair of 3-pointers, finishing with six points.
Shaina Pellington was honored before the game for scoring her 1,000th career point five days earlier against Stanford. βItβs a huge milestone, obviously, but Iβm not done yet. Thereβs a lot more to prove. Thereβs a lot more to do,β Pellington said.
Oregonβs original charter flight to Tucson was canceled, and the Ducks didnβt take off until later than expected Friday morning. They arrived in Tucson mid-afternoon, too late for a shootaround. Had the game not been scheduled for 8 p.m., it may not have been played on time.
Arizona passed out white βProtect our Houseβ T-shirts to the first 1,500 fans in attendance.
Photos: #8 Arizona clobbers #19 Oregon, women's basketball at McKale