The Arizona women’s basketball team played arguably its best game of the season against Washington State on Thursday, winning by 39 points. Sunday against the Washington Huskies, however, the Wildcats (14-13, 3-12 Pac-12) were unable to keep the same pace in a 68-59 loss.
The Wildcats shot just 18-for-60 from the field, 4-of-25 from 3-point range and were outrebounded 48-36. The Washington duo of Regina Rogers and Jazmine Davis combined for 39 points and 12 rebounds.
“We weren’t getting anything offensively, couldn’t get any stops inside — they were just having their way with us,” head coach Niya Butts said. “We left them wide open for some good looks on the 3-point line and they were able to knock those down. We just didn’t make the plays we needed to make.”
Point guard Shanita Arnold led the way for Arizona with a season-high 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting, 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Davellyn Whyte contributed 16 points on 5-of-16 shooting, but shot 0-for-7 from 3-point range. She also added nine rebounds and three assists.
It might not have closed the game off very well, but Arizona burst out of the gate in the first half, opening on an 18-6 run in the first nine minutes, led by Whyte’s six points in that time span. The Huskies were not ready to let the game get out of hand, however, as they went on a 13-3 run of their own to bring the score back to 21-19 with 3:45 remaining. Arizona held on to its lead, going into halftime up 29-25.
Again in the second half, the Wildcats opened on a run, only to see the lead immediately slip away. Arizona went on a 6-2 run to open the half, but the Huskies came right back with an 8-0 run of their own to tie the game at 35.
In a game filled with runs, the Huskies went on the biggest one that ended up putting the game away. After Arnold drained a 3-pointer with a little more than 11 minutes remaining, the Wildcats held a 45-40 lead. Over the next six minutes, Washington went on a 20-4 run to take a 12-point lead, all but ending Arizona’s hopes at securing what would have been its first two-game winning streak since December.
“It just comes down to getting stops and taking care of the ball when you’re ahead,” Arnold said. “We failed to do that and we did it at crucial moments.”
Freshman Erin Butler, who had the hot hand against Washington State with 21 first-half points, struggled against the Huskies. Butler scored zero points and shot just 0-for-6 from the field and 0-for-5 from 3-point range.
