It was only fitting that it was Aari McDonald.
After all, she’s stepped up and taken over games from the moment she put on an Arizona uniform.
On the biggest stage with a shot to go to the Sweet 16, it was no different.
McDonald stepped up on both ends of the court — scoring and getting two of the biggest steals of her career — as third-seeded Arizona beat 11th-seeded BYU 52-46 Wednesday night at the UTSA Convocation Center in San Antonio.
Her heroics will carry Arizona (18-5) to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1998, and only the second time in the history of the program. The Wildcats will play Texas A&M at 6 p.m. on Saturday in a game that will air on ESPN2.
“It was do or die,” McDonald told ESPN in the moments after the win. “I didn’t want to go home. I left it all on the court.”
The last time BYU played in a second-round NCAA Tournament game was in 2019, when the Cougars lost to Stanford. The Cougars have lost all seven regular-season games they’ve played against Pac-12 teams.
But BYU stayed with Arizona until late in the fourth quarter, and was leading by four points with 5:03 left. Barnes called a timeout. Her message to the Wildcats: “We’re not losing; let’s pick it up; play together and get stops.”
McDonald and her teammates took it to heart.
Arizona’s All-America guard knocked down a deep 3-pointer to close the gap to one, 43-42. Sam Thomas followed with a three of her own from the top of the key. Helena Pueyo hit a jumper inside the free throw line, as UA took a 47-43 lead with 2:52 left.
“(Helena and Sam) were clutch,” McDonald said. “We definitely needed those baskets.”
The Cougars hit a 3 to cut UA’s lead to 47-46. McDonald missed a 3 and Trinity Baptiste tipped the rebound back to McDonald who drove for the score and a 49-46 lead. McDonald’s steal and fast break gave the UA a 51-46 lead.
“It’s always McDonald time; it’s 40 minutes of McDonald time,” Barnes said.
McDonald finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. Baptiste had 11 rebounds and six points. Cate Reese finishes with 12 points; she was the only other Wildcat in double figures.
Right from the start, it was obvious that Wednesday’s second-round game was going to be physical. Two of the best defensive teams in the country stood their ground in a rough first half.
Thomas had three steals in the first 55 seconds of the game. Baptiste had seven rebounds — five defensive — in the first half.
Both defenses wreaked havoc for their opponent’s offense. They held each other to shooting in the low 30s (32% for BYU; 33% for UA).
Coach Adia Barnes calls out to her team during the first half. The Cats said Barnes’ pep talk with 5 minutes left helped push them to the win.
BYU’s Shaylee Gonzales scored 11 first-half points, but then the UA defense locked down even more — holding her to five the rest of the way. Barnes credited McDonald, who she calls the best defensive player in the country, for shutting her down.
At the start of the third quarter, the Wildcats went on a 7-0 run and it looked like they would break it wide open. McDonald had a floater, and Baptiste scored inside.
Yet, it was Reese who carried them. She scored eight of Arizona’s 13 points over the first five minutes of the frame. She knocked down two three-pointers and scored on an inbound pass from McDonald. Arizona had a one-point lead, 36-35.
Arizona would only score one point the rest of the quarter. They didn’t hit a field goal for 5:37. BYU wasn’t much better not scoring for the last 3:29.
It was tied at 37 going into the last 10 minutes of the game.
Arizona went on another scoring slump at the end of the first half, missing nine field goals to go into halftime trailing 25-23.
And yet, “we found a way to get the job done,” Barnes said. “We’ve handled adversity all year and just to come together and find a way to win. I’m just so proud of this team — no one believed in us, but the main thing is, we believe in ourselves, and we believe in each other.”
Rim shots
- McDonald has now scored in double figures in 89 consecutive games — the longest active streak in the nation.
- UA had 11 steals, forced 15 turnovers and turned them into 20 points.
- Arizona and BYU each finished with 38 rebounds.
- Thomas finished with seven points, two blocks and three steals.
