The Arizona women’s basketball team won the Paradise Jam Tournament this Thanksgiving weekend. The Wildcats went 3-0, Cate Reese won Tournament MVP and Sam Thomas was named to the All-Tournament Team.
The tournament started on Thanksgiving and Arizona faced off against Vanderbilt.
Arizona was led by Sam Thomas who scored 13 points and shot (5-10) 50% from the field.
This game came down to the wire and Arizona had the final possession and was tied 46-46 when Shaina Pellington hit an acrobatic layup to win the game.
Arizona had to face DePaul the next day.
The Wildcats would win this game 75-68.
The Wildcats were led by Cate Reese who scored 19 points on (7-15) 46% and Shaina Pellington who scored 14 points on (6-11) 54%.
Arizona shot the ball well shooting (30-54) 55% from the field and (3-9) 33% from the field.
This game was close going into the fourth quarter both teams were tied at 51-51. During the fourth quarter, Arizona took their largest lead of 11 and ended up with a 7 point victory.
Arizona was dominant with Lauren Ware, Cate Reese and Ariyah Copeland combined for 41 points. We now see how this roster for Arizona women’s basketball is different than last year. This year there is depth in the frontcourt that is willing and ready to score.
They had to be ready to face Rutgers for the third game in three days.
Arizona won this game against Rutgers big 80-44.
The Wildcats were led by Cate Reese who scored 16 points while shooting (7-12) 58% from the field and only played 12 minutes.
Arizona had the lead through the whole game and shot a high percentage of (31-60) 51.7% from the field and (9-19) 47.4% from beyond the arc.
The Wildcats passed the ball well during the game and had 20 total assists and they were led by Lauren Ware and Sam Thomas who both had three assists each.
Arizona did not get to play the bench much this tournament due to close games but the bench was a real staple in this game. The bench scored 50 of the 80 points on the day. The Wildcats bench was led by Gisela Sanchez who scored 15 points and Aaronette Vonleh who scored 12 points.
Arizona finished the tournament with Cate Reese getting tournament MVP and Sam Thomas named to the All-Tournament Team.
Arizona’s game on Dec. 3 against UC Riverside was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the UC Riverside basketball team.
Arizona faces North Dakota State at home on Thursday, Dec. 9, at 6:30 p.m.
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