Kailyn Gilbert, a guard on the Arizona women’s basketball team, takes a free throw on Nov. 13, in McKale Center. The Wildcats would win their second game 87-47.
Friday, Jan. 13: No. 14 Arizona vs. Colorado
Arizona women’s basketball had a rough weekend playing against the University of Colorado Boulder on Friday and the University of Utah on Sunday. The Colorado Buffaloes beat the Wildcats 72-65 on Friday night in Boulder, Colorado.
Colorado came out ready to go, putting up 18 points against the Wildcats in the first quarter while Arizona only scored eight. A key player throughout the game was Colorado’s Frida Formann, who scored 23 points while sinking five 3-pointers. In the second quarter, Arizona made a bit of a comeback by scoring 21 points but still trailed Colorado 31-29. Cate Reese stepped up in the game, scoring 14 points and pulling in nine rebounds.
The third and fourth quarters consisted of Arizona trying to make up for the defensive mistakes made throughout the game. As much effort as the Wildcats gave, it just wasn’t enough for Arizona to take the lead for long. Arizona fell to Colorado by a score of 72-65. With a fresh mindset, the Wildcats prepared for their game against the Utes.
Sunday, Jan. 15: No. 14 Arizona vs. No. 10 Utah
No. 14 Arizona women’s basketball lost to the University of Utah 80-79 in Salt Lake City on Sunday. The game started with Reese having a layup in the paint making the first points of the game. Jade Loville followed her by sinking a 3-pointer putting Arizona ahead 5-0 in the first two minutes of the game. By the end of the first quarter, though, Arizona was down 25-22. Utah made a comeback after the first few minutes by hitting a few free throws and scoring in the paint.
In the second quarter, Utah made three substitutions to put some fresh legs on the court. The Wildcats’ defense allowed Utah’s Gianna Kneepkens to sink a three in the first 15 seconds. Arizona put up six points off the bench and 14 points in the paint in the second quarter. Even though Utah only had three points off the bench and eight points in the paint, the Utes went into halftime up 42-40 thanks to Alissa Pili, who went seven for seven from the field during the half.
In the third quarter, Arizona scored 13 points and Utah scored 14. The Wildcats didn’t have any points off the bench and the Utes had just one. Arizona had ten points in the paint compared to Utah’s eight points in the paint. The Wildcats were just trailing behind Utah 56-53 at the end of the third quarter. Loville sank a three to set the tone at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The score went back and forth with Arizona trying to play catch-up, but they eventually ran out of time. The Utes took the lead due to free throws taken by Pili, securing the win for her team. The final score was 80-79 in Utah.
The Wildcats will play against ASU on Sunday, Jan. 22 at 3:00 p.m. in Tempe.
Follow Delaney Penn on Twitter
