Team of the week: Arizona women’s basketball team
The Arizona women’s basketball team took control of the sports spotlight here in Arizona this past week with their impressive performances. First, the Wildcats defeated the University of Utah at home on Friday, Feb. 17. The Utes came into the game ranked No. 4 in the nation, but Arizona pulled the upset and won the game 82-72. This victory was special not only because it was against a top-five-ranked team. It also made it the team’s fifth straight season with at least 20 wins.
The second standout performance from the Wildcats was on Sunday, Feb. 19 against the University of Colorado Boulder. The Buffaloes came into this game ranked No. 21 in the nation. On top of facing a ranked opponent, this game was the Wildcats’ last home game of the season. Meaning it was the last time the seniors would be playing on their home floor, so all of these factors along with the momentum they had from their victory over Utah earlier in the week. The Wildcats were able to have a dominant performance over the Buffaloes defeating them with a final score of 61-42.
Arizona came into the week facing two ranked teams, and finished their week with a clean sweep of both opponents, as the Wildcats improved to a record of 21-6 which is tied for the second-best record in the Pac-12.
Athlete of the week: Chase Davis
Left fielder Chase Davis dominated on the field once again this past week becoming our athlete of the week. Not everyone may know who Davis is, but he has a pretty decorated resume from his time in Arizona. In Davis’s first opportunity as a full-time starter, he impressed with a .289 batting average, 56 runs scored, 13 doubles, one triple, a team-leading 18 home runs and 54 RBI. He also tied for third-most home runs at 18 in the Pac-12 last season and that stands as the sixth-most in a single season in program history.
Coming into this season Davis was selected as a Second Team Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball, which was the second consecutive year the Wildcats have landed a player on this prestigious list.
This past week the team played against Michigan State University, on Sunday, Feb. 19, The team dominated the Spartans with a final score of 7-1 in their third game of the MLB Desert Invitational. Davis stood out in this dominant performance for the Wildcats because he had two opposite-field home runs as the Wildcats powered past the Spartans. Davis’s first two home runs of the season helped the Wildcats fuel a seven-run, one-hit, six-walk performance for their offense which was their best showing of the year.
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