On Sunday, Arizona women’s basketball was involved in a triple overtime affair with UCLA. Although UA came out on the losing end, the team still felt like the game as a whole was a positive.
“I like the way my team fought despite the outcome,” redshirt sophomore Aari McDonald said. “We definitely have things to work on, but i’m definitely proud of my team. We showed a lot of fight, we showed a lot of leadership and togetherness, and we didn’t quit, so I really love that about my team.”
In a game that lasted 70 minutes, there are bound to be some unique and interesting statistics, both in the game and about the game as a whole. Let’s take a look at some.
18
The last time there was a triple overtime game in Pac-12 conference play was on Jan. 7, 2001. 18 years ago, USC and Washington played a 3OT game. For Washington, it was its first triple overtime game in program history, and just the second triple overtime game for the Trojans. The game featured Ebony Hoffman and Megan Franza, who both played in the WNBA (with Hoffman still going strong at 36 years old for the Connecticut Sun), and Loree Payne, who now holds the title of head coach at Northern Arizona University. Washington won the game, 91-79.
52
The amount of minutes that senior forward Tee Tee Starks played. In just her second game in the starting lineup this season, and third game back from an injury that sidelined her from a pair of games, Starks had almost a full hour of time on the floor. She finished with five points and five rebounds, but she was crucial for the Wildcats for her experience, but also as a defensive presence. She had two steals, and came up big for the Wildcats on numerous defensive possessions, especially down the stretch.
35, 12, 7
The stat line for McDonald, who finished with 35 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists in 50 minutes. In her best game of what has been a stellar season, McDonald came up three assists short of what would have been her first career triple double. The 35 points is her third-highest point total of the season. But it’s not just the stats that made this McDonald’s best game of the year. Especially in the overtime periods, McDonald was clutch for the ‘Cats, making plays both defensively and offensively, highlighted by a three-pointer with seconds left to force the third overtime.
RELATED – Aari McDonald: Worth the wait
27-13
One of the biggest reasons for the ‘Cats loss, and one of their biggest achilles heels of the season, the Wildcats were out-rebounded 27-13 offensively. The leading rebounders for UCLA, Lajahna Drummer and Michaela Onyenwere, had eight and seven offensive rebounds, respectively. To put that into perspective, the leading offensive rebounder for Arizona was freshman Cate Reese, who had just four boards on the offensive glass.
32
Throughout the whole game, there were 32 lead changes in total. The game was back and forth from the opening tip, and it stayed that way up until the final buzzer. The game was exciting, unpredictable, and just flat out fun to watch. From game-tying shots to big defensive stops, Arizona vs. UCLA will go down as one of the best games of the Pac-12 season.
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