Arizona women’s basketball continued its non-conference schedule with a game in California against Long Beach State University.
After coming out the gates hot and tailing off, the Wildcats were able lock in and pick up another win, 70-43, improving to 8-1 on the season.
The ‘Cats, like they have so often done in their non-conference schedule, jumped out to an early lead, finding themselves up 20-9 after one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, the ‘Cats played an ugly quarter, but were still able to build their lead, only slightly, and went into the half up 35-22.
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Sophomore Sam Thomas, who came into the game struggling from beyond the arc, shooting just 26 percent from 3-point range, led the team in first half points with nine, going 2-3 from the three point line.
Long Beach State came out aggressive in the second half, stringing together a few quick buckets for an 8-0 run, bringing the score to 35-30.
From that point on, the ‘Cats were able to settle in, both offensively and defensively, responding to that LBSU run with a 9-0 run of their own. In the last 4:23 of the game, Long Beach State was held scoreless by Arizona’s defense.
Thomas finished the game with 16 points on 6-9 shooting, 3-5 from three, also adding two rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
Redshirt sophomore Aari McDonald, who came into the game as one of the nation’s top scorers, finished with 17 points after a first half in which she only had five points. She also added five rebounds in just 21 minutes of play, her season low for time on the floor. She shot just 5-14 from the field, which was also a season low for her.
Freshman Cate Reese played just 17 minutes, the third least on the team, which tied her season lowest. She also recorded her season low in points (four) attempted field goals (four) and had her second worst rebounding performance, grabbing six total boards.
The Wildcats only have two non-conference games left on their schedule, both taking place in Tucson next week. First up is a matchup against UTEP on Monday, Dec. 17 at 6:30 p.m.
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