Things were trending the Arizona Wildcats’ way as they prepared to face Washington State on Friday night. The last time they played at home on a Friday night against Colorado, they won.
The last time they had a special night on a Friday night — the Unity Game — they won.
The comparisons stopped there. The Cougars jumped out to a big lead in the second quarter and defeated the UA 78-60 at McKale Center for their first Pac-12 road win of the season. The Cougars’ blowout win came on a night when nearly 100 former players were in town for a UA reunion.
The Wildcats looked strong to start the game, leading 22-14 at the end of the first period. JaLea Bennett and Destiny Graham each scored eight points in the first quarter.
“We were making shots, and then we ran out of gas,” UA coach Adia Barnes said. “JaLea was awesome scoring at times. I like her being aggressive. When she goes to the rim, no one can stop her. I want her to play that hard on offense and defense. It was a hard combination tonight. We have to make stops; we can’t score and give scores. I wasn’t disappointed in our effort; I was just a little disappointed that we couldn’t get stops.”
The UA trailed by 20 points when it began a 14-0 run over three-plus minutes toward the end of the third quarter.
Washington State improved to 10-13 overall and 3-8 in Pac-12 play.
Bennett finished with 24 points, and Graham added 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds. The UA fell to 5-17, 1-10.
“We’re not going to wake up and play better,” Bennett said. “We have to continue to play as long as there is time on the clock, to make runs and win the game.”
Rim shots
- Washington State played without its head coach, June Daughtery, who took medical leave on Jan. 24. Her husband Mike, a Cougars assistant, has been in charge since.
- Before the UA game Sunday against Washington, the Wildcats will be teaching youngsters in the Future Cats program. This is the second of five one-hour camp sessions. Nearly 50 kids are participating in the program
- .
