Arizona took care of business this weekend, winning two games.
Veteran stars Shaina Pellington and Sam Thomas made sure of it.
Pellington starred in No. 10-ranked Arizona’s 75-56 win over No. 22 Colorado on Sunday, scoring a career-high 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting while grabbing three steals.
Pellington hit both of her 3-point attempts and some mid-range shots and was successful in driving to the hoop. Pellington also hit 6 of her 8 free throws after struggling at the line all season.
“I just felt confident once I started hitting shots, I was like, ‘OK, I feel really like just composed right now,’ especially at the free-throw line,” Pellington said. “I felt really just composed, relaxed, which is when I play my best. I was really confident when the ball was in my hands and when I was attacking the rim and taking shots.”
Pellington seemed to have a hand in every twist and turn in the game. When Arizona was down 21-9, Pellington got the ball on a Colorado turnover and hit a jumper with 5:57 left in the second quarter. The Wildcats rallied, going on the 12-5 run that tied the game at 29-29 going into the half.
Pellington scored 8 of Arizona’s 12 points during that run.
“I think she did a really good job finishing … what I liked that she also did was she didn’t force anything,” coach Adia Barnes said. “It wasn’t like they were contested layups; they were. She was beating people, causing rotations. She did a great job of finding people. She scored big baskets when we needed it.”
Pellington’s 28 points came in just 27 minutes of action.
She wasn’t the only veteran who stepped up. Thomas scored a season-high 25 points in Friday’s 76-64 win over Utah, hitting 7 of 11 field goals — six of them 3-pointers. She also made all five of her free throws.
Barnes drew up the first play for Thomas and after knocking that down, her teammates just kept finding her.
Thomas said that once she hit her first two shots, “my confidence was up.”
“I think my family, the fans, the coaches, my teammates, everybody in the world always wants me to shoot more,” Thomas laughed. “It’s been a constant thing my whole time here. So sometimes I do shoot a little bit more. I am trying to shoot more this season.”
Thomas followed up with nine points on Sunday, 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.
Defense wins games
On Friday night, Arizona debuted a new defensive adjustment. It showed up in the second quarter.
It started with UA forcing a shot clock violation. Bendu Yeaney then had a block, Lauren Ware altered a shot, Helena Pueyo had three steals and Madi Conner had a steal.
Arizona outscored Utah 26-9 in the quarter.
“We knew how great Utah was offensively, so we knew we couldn’t let them shoot 50% the whole game or else they would blow us out by like 30,” Thomas said. “We just knew we had to lock down, play intense play our Arizona defense. We tried to throw out different defenses at them. I think that’s what really helped when we just locked in.”
The Wildcats started Sunday’s game slowly, spotting Colorado — the other top defensive team in the Pac-12 — a 17-7 lead after the first quarter. Barnes called a timeout with 58 seconds left to talk to her team about their lack of intensity.
“We weren’t contesting shots; that’s not how we play,” Barnes said. “We don’t play back off like that. That’s not our style. I thought we were passive. I thought that they beat us to a lot of 50-50 balls and that’s not what we do. And I wasn’t happy with that overall, until the second half. … But we found ways to win.
“We found ways, we battled on the boards in the second half. We made it really hard for their best players to score and I think we guarded them really well. You know it was also it was a battle of the some of the top defensive teams in the conference, in the country. I thought this was a good battle.”
Going to the bench
The Wildcats went to the bench more over the weekend, the result of two lopsided results.
Barnes admitted it’s been “really hard as a coach” not to play her younger players more.
“I think there are some times like I want to play Gisela (Sanchez) more. There’s some games and we’re playing against really good teams,” she said. “I don’t have the luxury of doing that sometimes because she’s young and then to come in and make mistake, which you’re supposed to, it’s hard. You’ve just sat 30 minutes, but we don’t have the time and we won games by a possession or two a lot.
“Today we had a cushion, so it’s a lot easier to play your bench and go deeper. … but it’s important for me to get Netty (Vonleh) experience because I’m thinking of the future — these are players I want in our program. Like Derin (Erodgan) it was great to get her on the floor. But Derin is playing behind a high-level guard.
“Anna Gret (Asi) to get her some minutes, Semaj (Smith) — it’s important because if the morale of the team, (for) people stay motivated.”
