The Arizona women’s basketball team bounced back yesterday to beat TCU 59-56 in overtime after losing games to No. 25 George Washington and No. 1 Maryland at the BTI Classic in College Park, Md.
Senior guard Joy Hollingsworth made two free throws with 14 seconds left in overtime to seal the game for Arizona (2-2). The game featured 11 lead changes and nine ties.
“”It was definitely a needed win,”” UA head coach Joan Bonvicini said. “”It wasn’t the prettiest game, but it’s hard when you play three games in three days.””
Hollingsworth led the Wildcats with 11 points and six steals to go along with her seven rebounds.
Arizona shot only 23-for-68 (33.8 percent) but outrebounded the Lady Frogs (0-3) 51-41. The Wildcats also shot only 3-of-19 on 3-point attempts, but made 10-of-13 free throws.
Hollingsworth and guard Ashley Whisonant combined to shoot just 6-of-29 (20.7 percent).
“”We’ve got to shoot better from the perimeter,”” Bonvicini said. “”I think part of that attributes to the third game in three days.””
Arizona and TCU both had 19 turnovers, including five by Whisonant.
In Saturday’s matchup against Maryland (3-0), the Terrapins took advantage of poor shooting by Arizona to open the game, as the Wildcats were only 2-of-13 (15.4 percent) from the field. They bounced back and finished 26-of-56 (46.4 percent), but the deficit appeared to be too much to overcome against the defending champions.
“”Our slow start in the first half proved to be the big difference in the game,”” Bonvicini said. “”We didn’t execute our game plan early. We got ourselves in a big hole.””
Hollingsworth scored a game-high 22 points, and sophomore Malia O’Neal shot 5-of-5 for her 11-point total.
The Terps shot 27-59 (45.8 percent) from the floor and outrebounded the Wildcats 42-27. They also had 17 offensive rebounds for 20 second-chance points.
In the opening game of the series, Arizona blew several opportunities. In the final 1:37 of the game, George Washington (4-1) outscored the Wildcats 10-3 to come back and secure a 69-65 win. In that span, Arizona allowed eight consecutive points.
Whisonant led the team with 20 points and six assists in front of her Maryland family and friends.
“”We really came together down the stretch,”” Bonvicini said of the TCU win. “”We needed this win. I knew the Maryland game was obviously going to be a tough one, but we really basically gave the game away on Friday against George Washington. We had every opportunity to win that game, so it was big to come out and win (yesterday).””