Cate Reese earned her second Pac-12 Player of the Week award Monday.
It wasnβt easy.
The shots werenβt falling for her at the beginning of the game against ASU in Tempe on Sunday. But then she remembered the pregame talk from her teammate, Aari McDonald: Do what you do best.
βI went back to what I normally do β I got offensive rebounds and my shot started to fall β it all started to flow together,β Reese said. βIβm just thankful my teammates found me.β
Reese went on to put up her fourth double-double of the season β 17 points, 10 rebounds β to help lead No. 18 Arizona to a 58-53 win over ASU.
Reese is the first Pac-12 player to earn this honor twice this season.
Three weeks ago, she put up back-to-back double-doubles against Monmouth (16 points, 11 rebounds) and UTEP (19 points, 17 rebounds).
The sophomore forward has elevated her game just when the Wildcats (12-0, 1-0 Pac-12) needed it.
Senior Dominique McBryde went down with an ankle injury in that Monmouth game and Reese responded with strong performances in five consecutive outings.
In Sundayβs game, McDonald sat on the bench early and fouled out near the end of the game just as the Sun Devils were making a surge.
This time it was Reese who stepped up in the leadership role β giving her teammates the pep talk that gave them that mentality to finish.
And then she just added that tight defense β getting her last rebound that helped secure the victory. She also notched a steal and blocked a shot in the win.
Reese is averaging 14.3 points per game β second on the team to only McDonald β and 8.6 rebounds, which is first on the team and fourth in the Pac-12.
Reese has 11 career double-doubles, placing her eighth in UA history.
Arizona has been ranked at No. 18 in the AP poll for four consecutive weeks.
Big win
Itβs a big deal to beat your rival. Itβs an even bigger deal to beat them on their home court. Itβs the biggest deal to beat them on their home court after not winning there since 2000.
And thatβs exactly what Arizona did Sunday at ASU.
βI think now weβve gone on the road, we beat Texas, and went on the road and beat ASU β and ASU to me is a Top-25 team,β said UA coach Adia Barnes, who is now 3-4 against ASU as a coach. βThey were chosen above us in the Pac-12, so this was a huge win and we havenβt done in 20 years.
βThat says a lot. Your rival game is like β¦itβs like a championship game. And it was like that today. For us to come here and win is huge, because now we just play at home and they have to come on our home court in front of our amazing fans and beat us.β
Wildcat fans were so loud at times it almost seemed like McKale North, as it often does for the menβs basketball games.
βIt was incredible,β Barnes said. βI felt at times they were all over. We had a huge section. βWe have the best fans in the Pac-12. Iβve been saying we donβt average as much as Oregon, which, you know, they are in the top three in the country, but we are building that and weβre going to continue to have more and more.β
