Sam Thomas did all she could to make it last just a little longer.
She stayed an extra year in college, and when it came down to her last game at home in a Wildcat uniform, she left it all on the court.
Thomas tightened her defense. She flew in the air to try to catch a pass. She trapped, she forced errant passes.
Thomas even turned up the aggression on offense — driving to the hoop, knocking down 3 three-pointers and finishing with a team-high 15 points.
In the end, however, North Carolina was just too much for Arizona to handle. The fifth-seeded Tar Heels defeated the fourth-seeded Wildcats 63-45 at McKale Center Monday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Fifth-seeded UNC (25-6) now moves on to play No. 1 South Carolina in the Sweet 16 on Friday. Arizona finishes its season 21-8.
“(I am) obviously disappointed with our performance and how we played on the big stage,” UA coach Adia Barnes said. “North Carolina did a great job. They played well. They disrupted us. They really congested the paint, didn’t allow us to drive. We kind of lived and died by the 3-point shot in the first half and just couldn’t convert. They did a really good job of just outplaying us in multiple ways.”
Arizona coach Adia Barnes yells at the Wildcats’ defense during Monday’s loss to North Carolina.
The Tar Heels dominated from the tip. The Wildcats struggled offensively again, and when the Wildcats put together spurts — most notably in the last few minutes of the first half, the beginning of the third quarter and the fourth quarter — North Carolina didn’t going to give an inch.
Arizona shot 29%, hitting just 17 of 59 from the field. In the first half, UA went on a nearly 12-minute scoring drought before Thomas knocked down a 3.
Bendu Yeaney was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 10. Cate Reese added points.
Outplayed throughout the first half, Arizona began to chip away. The Wildcats scored 10 points in five minutes. Helena Pueyo and Gisela Sanchez came off the bench and each hit 3s. Reese followed with a layup. Pueyo had a big block and a defensive rebound before Thomas drove to the basket for a pair to close the gap to 54-37.
The defense picked up as well, besides that block, the Wildcats forced errant passes and started trapping. It wasn’t enough to erase a lead that UNC held almost from the opening tip.
Carolina was led by Kennedy Todd-Williams, who scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Deja Kelly chipped in 15 points on 3-of-10 shooting, hitting 9 of 10 free throws.
UNC took away a lot of UA’s offensive action by sagging in the paint.
“Their actions are so hard to guard,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. “That elbow run action — (Cate) Reese is so dangerous there and so is Thomas — and we just shut that down. Their dribble handoff action where they try to really win the paint, it’ll get you once, it will get you twice and we just we knew we were not biting on any of them. … I don’t like any matchup one on one against this team; I don’t like any of them. We made it a five-on-five game.”
With the result in hand, Barnes did what she could to give Thomas a farewell. She lifted the UA’s captain with 4 seconds remaining, and gave her a big hug.
“I was going to get her standing ovation because he deserves that,” Barnes said. “(She’s an) incredible kid. Incredible person, incredible young woman. She came to Arizona this introverted shy kid that …. And wasn’t heavily recruited. She left as a monster defensive player, stellar academically, just a role model in every sense of the word. That’s what a student-athlete is. It is Sam. She gave so much this program.”
After the game, Thomas hugged teammates Yeaney and Reese, her roommate, then turned to the crowd and waved and blew kisses as she walked off the court for the last time.
Arizona forward Sam Thomas reacts after hitting a 3-pointer during Monday’s game. She finished with a team-high 15 points.
“There are no words for the experience that I’ve had with my time here. It’s been anything more than I could have wished for or imagined,” Thomas said as she teared up. “…These fans and this team did everything for me. … Exiting the court just looking at everyone in the arena, just knowing that it’s my last time actually being on the court as a Wildcat in my uniform. Knowing that I think the fans are hopefully going to follow me. A lot of them so they’re going to follow my next adventure in life and that they’re all like family to me. They just made this place a great place to be.”
