Another close game ended in a loss for the Arizona women’s basketball team.
The Pacific Tigers (3-2) defeated the Wildcats (1-4) 75-66 on Saturday in Stockton, Calif. The defeat is the third road loss of the season for the Wildcats.
After a disappointing loss in the home opener against Stephen F. Austin in the previous game, Arizona came out of the gate ready to play. The Wildcats started the game on a 12-2 run and looked as if their focus on offense in practice the week before had paid off. The Arizona first half lead grew to 13 points after a layup by UA junior guard Candice Warthen with 7:06 left in the half.
However, the momentum changed from that point on. The Tigers closed the first half on a 19-6 run and tied the game up at 29-29. Five Wildcats scored at least four points by the end of the first half, including senior guard Kama Griffitts, who finished the game with a team-high 16 points, and had scored eight points at the half.
Despite the loss of momentum, Arizona still hung in the game. The game went back and forth for the better part of 12 minutes before the Tigers seized the lead for good when Pacific senior guard KiKi Moore hit a layup with 7:43 left in half to put the Tigers up 54-52. From that point on, the Tigers outscored the Wildcats 21-14 to close out the game.
Arizona committed 26 turnovers, which led to 28 Pacific points. This comes on the heels of the Wildcats’ committing merely 15 turnovers in their last game. Griffitts and senior forward Erica Barnes tied for the Arizona lead with six turnovers each.
Barnes, who had missed the first four games of the season with a concussion, made her season debut on Saturday. The 6-foot-2 forward had 10 points and four rebounds to go along with her six turnovers in 19 minutes of action.
The Tigers were led by star junior forward Kendall Kenyon, both in points and on the boards. Kenyon finished with game highs in points (20) and rebounds (10) even though the 6-foot-2 forward played only 25 minutes due to foul trouble. Aiding Kenyon were junior guard Madison Parrish and Moore, who each chipped in 17 points.
The Wildcats play next on Tuesday, at 11 a.m. at home against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The game will be streamed live on pac-12.com.
—Follow Roberto Payne @RPsportreporter
