Playing again without their leading scorer and with a trio of players in deep foul trouble early enough into the second half, Arizona coach Adia Barnes’ Wildcats were certainly pushed to the brink Sunday afternoon.
Oh, yeah: there was Cameron Brink, too. Stanford’s star forward finished with 25 points and 20 rebounds as the sixth-ranked Cardinal romped past the Wildcats, 96-64, at McKale Center.
Brink, who went for 20 points and 16 rebounds Friday night in a 30-point Cardinal win at ASU, played the first 25 minutes Sunday until Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer pulled her midway through the third quarter with the Cardinal up 25.
Just like in Arizona’s 66-55 win over Cal on Friday night, the Wildcats used a seven-player rotation Sunday.
Arizona guard Courtney Blakely had a career-high 24 points. Her previous high as a Wildcat had been 10 in early December. “Really, for me, I was just trying to keep up with the game,” she said. “So I wasn’t really caught up in how many how many points I had.”
UA junior Courtney Blakely, a transfer guard moderately used at times this season, led the way offensively for the Wildcats off the bench. Her career-high 24 points against the Cardinal came by way of a season-high 31 minutes. Blakely’s prior scoring high at UA was 10 in early December against UC San Diego, while her career high before Sunday was 18, set as a freshman two years ago while playing at Middle Tennessee.
“Really, for me, I was just trying to keep up with the game,” Blakely said. “So I wasn’t really caught up in how many how many points I had.”
Blakely, who played 26 minutes off the bench against Cal, said an updated “role” these past two games has “definitely sparked some confidence for me.”
Freshmen Skylar Jones and Jada Williams also helped pace Arizona’s scoring efforts Sunday with 12 and 14 points, respectively.
Jones started again in place of Kailyn Gilbert, the Wildcats’ top offensive threat this season; Gilbert was out for the second consecutive game. Postgame, Barnes did not clarify why Gilbert was out, only saying “she’s not available right now” and that it wasn’t clear if Gilbert would be in the lineup for Arizona’s game next Sunday at home against ASU.
While not specifically mentioning Gilbert at the time, Barnes did say that the Wildcats’ seven-player rotation may continue “for a while and possibly the rest of the season.”
Arizona did lead a few times early on Sunday, at 2-0, 5-2 and 6-5 — all within the game’s first three minutes. But after that, Stanford would rattle off 12 straight points as part of a 14-1 run to blow the game open before the end of the opening frame.
“They’re big inside. They have two dominant post players that really just impact the game, and some good shooters,” Barnes said of the Cardinal. “A lot of weapons.
Stanford forward Cameron Brink (22), Arizona forward Isis Beh Dew (33) and Cardinal guard Jzaniya Harriel battle for a first-half rebound.
“But I’m proud of our fight. I’m proud that we didn’t give up. We fought for 40 minutes it was hard to (find an) answer,” she added. We tried pretty much every type of defense. It wasn’t successful.”
Arizona (11-10, 3-6 Pac-12) trailed 41-23 at halftime but still turned up the heat at times in the third quarter with its full-court press. It worked more than once, with the UA forcing multiple Stanford (19-2, 8-1) turnovers. But the Wildcats were, in effect, stymied by their own foul trouble. Breya Cunningham picked up her fourth foul less than two minutes into the third quarter; she fouled out late in the game after playing just 12 minutes. Esmery Martinez and Isis Beh were also both at four fouls with the third quarter barely halfway gone.
“The thing is, as a coach, you want your players to give their hearts. You want them to fight,” Barnes said. “We’re doing all those things. So I can’t really ask for anything (more).”
The other side
It wasn’t just Brink giving Arizona trouble. Kiki Iriafen, fresh off her own 27-point, 16-rebound performance at ASU, added 21 and nine against the Wildcats on Sunday while Hannah Jump connected on 4 of 5 3-point attempts to finish with 15 points in the win.
Brink’s success at McKale came much to the chagrin of ever-vocal, 7,692-strong UA crowd who thought Brink got away with a couple elbows or push-offs, some directly to the chests of the UA players guarding her.
“She is incredibly talented. She has great skill sets, finishes well, shoots the ball well — timing, block shots, rebounds,” VanDerveer said of Brink, who was 8 of 12 from the floor and 8 of 8 from the free throw line. “She’s just been playing really, really well.”
Brink’s two-game averages for Stanford’s Arizona weekend: 22.5 points and 17.5 rebounds in 25 minutes per game. Already a three-time Pac-12 women’s basketball Player of the Week this season alone, a fourth such honor may just be awaiting Brink come Monday.
Arizona's Esmery Martinez is defended by Stanford forward Brooke Demetre (21) and forward Cameron Brink in the first half.
Stat sheet
Helena Pueyo: 7 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 0 points, 33 minutes
Martinez: 8 points, 4 rebounds
Blakely: 24 points, 11 of 20 shooting, 2 of 3 3-pointers
Jones: 12 points, 4 of 6 shooting, 4 of 5 free throws, 3 rebounds
By the numbers
11: Despite being pulled five minutes into the third quarter, Brink on her own had more rebounds than Arizona for the next 11 minutes, as she sat on the bench. It wasn’t until roughly three minutes remained that the Wildcats, who finished with 21 total rebounds, topped Brink’s individual total of 20. Stanford had 49 as a team.
31: The average margin of victory for Stanford in its final Pac-12 desert trek to Tempe and Tucson: 31 points. The Sun Devils and Wildcats can dust off their wounds against each other when they meet at McKale next weekend.
1: After picking up two steals Sunday, Arizona’s Helena Pueyo is now one steal shy of tying former Wildcat Sam Thomas for third on the UA’s all-time list. Pueyo has 261 in her career.
6: After a month of January that saw Arizona host No. 5 Colorado and No. 15 Utah, then go on back-to-back road trips to the Pacific Northwest before Cal and No. 6 Stanford were at McKale this weekend, the Wildcats get the next six days to breathe, recover and regroup before facing ASU.
PJ Brown, beat reporter covering Arizona Wildcats women's basketball for the Arizona Daily Star and Tucson.com chats with Star sports editor Brett Fera ahead of the UA's weekend matchup with Cal and no. 6 Stanford, in both teams' final Pac-12 visit to McKale Center.
Arizona women's basketball coach Adia Barnes speaks on her team's performance after the Wildcats fell at home to Stanford 96-64 at McKale Center on Jan. 28, 2024. (Video courtesy Arizona Athletics)
Arizona women's basketball players Courtney Blakely and Skylar Jones speak on their team's performance after the Wildcats fell at home to Stanford 96-64 at McKale Center on Jan. 28, 2024. (Video courtesy Arizona Athletics)
