After starting the season 13-0, Arizona women’s basketball drops its second consecutive game to No. 3 Oregon State 63-61.
Arizona started off slow, letting Oregon State go on a 7-0 run to begin the game. The Wildcats kept it close throughout the duration of the second half. They held Oregon State to one basket in the final five minutes of the third quarter, which ended with a Kat Tudor 4-point play, ending all of the momentum that Arizona had in the third quarter. They built a 10-0 run up to that point.
The fourth quarter was pretty much the same thing. This time, Arizona was held without a field goal in the final 3:26. They did everything to draw fouls and get to the free throw line
Despite a rocky game by Mikayla Pivec, she knocked in the game-winning layup with 1.3 seconds left. She had 17 points on 7-12 shooting, along with 10 rebounds and 6 assists.
“When’s Pivec graduating again? I don’t ever want to see her again,” Adia Barnes said. Pivec also hit the game-winning shot in double overtime in last year’s matchup with Arizona, which was also the Wildcats’ last loss at the McKale Center.
Barnes also elaborated about Oregon State’s play throughout the season.
“They’re experienced, especially from the perimeter,” Barnes said. “They’re hard to guard because they spread you out. They have a good post player in the lane, so you have to help weak side, and so you’re late to rotate out to shooters.”
Arizona did everything they could to stay in the game despite trailing by as much as 11 points. They forced 19 Oregon State turnovers and got 23 points off those turnovers.
“I was very pleased with our defense,” Barnes said. “When we were locked in and played our defense, we got violations. The tough part was when we would rotate, rotate, and have a great shooter in the corner.”
Arizona forward Dominique McBryde made her first return for Arizona for the first time in a month after suffering an injury over a month ago.
“It felt amazing, I really missed being out there,” McBryde said. “I really missed being with my teammates and missed the hype of it all.” She played 15 minutes and had 4 points, 1 rebound and 2 blocks off the bench.
Arizona falls to 13-2 while Oregon State remains undefeated, moving to 15-0. The Wildcats look to avoid losing a third consecutive game when No. 2 Oregon comes to the McKale Center on Sunday. Oregon also lost to ASU, as both of the top two teams lost this week, which could project the Beavers to become the new No. 1 when the next AP poll comes out. Tip-off between No. 18 Arizona and No. 2 Oregon will be at noon on Sunday.
