It was only one game, Arizona’s defense appears to be back.
Well, actually it was one really, really good half.
The 20th-ranked Wildcats gave up just 15 second-half points on the way to a 89-55 win over Texas Southern on Wednesday night in McKale Center. The visiting Tigers scored six points in the third quarter: one 3-pointer and three free throws.
Arizona held Texas Southern scoreless for five minutes in the third. TSU didn’t score for another 6 1/2-minute stretch between the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth.
UA pressed often in the first half, and at times it was very effective. Shaina Pellington forced an inbounds pass into her hands and scored. A minute later, Maya Nnaji got a steal, passed it to Madi Conner, who passed to Lemyah Hylton in the paint for a layup to give UA a 28-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Wildcats had 10 of their 19 steals in the first half, but didn’t always convert.
It all clicked in the third quarter.
Arizona guards Helena Pueyo and Shaina Pellington trap Texas Southern’s Kamryn Bates during Wednesday’s second half.
Cate Reese and Helena Pueyo got it started with back-to-back steals with a different level of intensity. They were trapping, getting in the passing lanes and not giving the Tigers much space. Then, the UA forced a five-second violation on an inbounds play, a 10-second violation for not getting the ball cross midcourt and a shot clock violation.
Reese called it “Arizona defense.”
“We’ve always been great at trapping and I think being able to get that stop set the tone, set the pace for the rest of the game,” Reese said. “But I think that needs to start in the first half. That needs start in the first quarter and start the first possession. We’re going to continue to work on that and just get more aggressive.”
Pounding the post
The Wildcats spent most of Wednesday looking for their posts in the paint.
Reese, Esmery Martinez and Nnaji combined for 47 points. The UA scores 56 in the point.
Barnes said that they did a good job of “using a screen and posting up and demanding the ball in the post.”
“Kailyn (Gilbert) is a really good post passer. I’d say she’s one of the best because she really looks to pass it in,” Barnes said. “I thought as a unit — Helena, all the guards, Lauren (Fields) — they really were intentional about passing and (Reese, Martinez and Nnaji) were hitting cutters, they were passing it back out not forcing it.”
The trio did more than just score. UA outrebounded TSU 45-30, with 27 boards coming from Martinez, Reese and Nnaji. They grabbed nine of the UA’s 19 steals.
Barnes said the chemistry between Martinez and Reese is starting to develop.
“They’re looking for each other high-low. They’re passing the ball to each other. I think that’s really good,” Barnes said. “They are both aggressive on on-balls. It gives us a really good look defensively when they’re on point.
“They both can step up on different nights. Some nights its Cate’s night and other nights its Esmery’s. … They both can drive from the perimeter. … Now that we have better shooters on the perimeter, they should have opportunities to be more one-on-one. I think in the past, there was never a chance for them to play one-on-one because everybody was inside. We’ll continue to shoot the ball better. …Then they’ll have more isolation situations which is a benefit for them.”
Freshmen showing growth
Barnes incorporated the Wildcats’ freshmen early and often. She said she’s seeing growth from Nnaji, Hylton, Gilbert and Paris Clark every day.
“Lemyah gave really good energy,” Barnes said. “Maya played with really good strength inside. We talked about shooting on our own terms and not rushing a shot in the post. You have to have poise in the post. She did that. She gathered herself, she finished strong. She was disappointed that she missed a couple layups, but I thought that she played strong. She had some good rebounds.
“I thought Kailyn was a better floor general. She took charge, she echoed plays and she directed people which we didn’t see a while ago. She didn’t only look to go score, but she was trying to distribute but then she was aggressive too, because that’s her game. I saw Paris give us great energy. Defensively she was more solid and in position a lot more.”
A new experience
Tuesday afternoon, the Wildcats went to the new African American Museum of Southern Arizona. The museum, which will open to the public next month, was founded by among others, former UA men’s basketball standout Bob Elliott.
The visit was part of the educational component of the Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series, which began with Wednesday’s game against TSU.
Reese said it was an opportunity to “embrace and understand” the culture of many of her teammates.
Martinez had a great experience going to a museum for the first time.
“Think about it when you come to college you’re not really going to museums,” Barnes said. “…I learned more about Buffalo Soldiers. There are things you learn in history but you don’t really know the story behind things. That was cool for all of us. We talked about hair and the culture and (former UA men’s basketball coach Fred) Snowden (the first African American coach at a university). If you take and learn one thing from it, it’s positive. It’s Esmery’s first museum … she’ll never forget it.”
McKale Center was built at the University of Arizona in the early 1970s. There have been updates through the years.
