The University of Arizona women’s basketball team won its first exhibition game against
West Texas A&M University, dominating the Buffaloes 84-59 on Friday, Oct. 25 in McKale Center. The Wildcats were led by Jada Williams who scored 15 points in 23 minutes on the court.
Recap
Arizona opened the game winning the jump ball and immediately hitting a field goal, taking the first lead 2-0. However, West Texas responded hitting 7-7 from the field and 2-2 from beyond the arc as the Buffaloes took the 16-12 lead over Arizona.
Down 4 points midway through the first quarter, Williams jump started Arizona with a 3-pointer. This led to a 12-0 scoring run, allowing Arizona to take control of the game again.
“We’re not playing defense right now, and it’s not about going for steals every time its position, rotation, communication,” head coach Adia Barnes said after the game.
In the second quarter Arizona hit 6 of 18 shots on offense as the Wildcat defense waned and allowed West Texas to crawl back into the game. Arizona ended the quarter only up 39-34 as they entered halftime.
Despite Arizona leading at the half, the team had already been called for seven personal fouls and had racked up 11 turnovers, which all contributed to West Texas’ ability to work its way back into the game.
Three minutes into the second half after a West Texas timeout, Arizona once again was energized going on another scoring run, this one being a 6-point run started after a big lay-up by redshirt senior Isis Beh.
With Arizona securely in the lead, Barnes continued her heavy substitutions, playing all 13 players on the roster. Only one member of the team stayed scoreless throughout the game.
According to Barnes, the heavy substitution was not a long-term solution for the team but a necessity in the exhibition games for players to get much-needed experience on the court with their teammates.
Arizona, seemingly finding its groove, dominated the fourth quarter growing its lead to 25, the largest of the night. The Wildcats ended the game with the win but gave up a total of 17 fouls and 19 turnovers. The Wildcat defense, however, did get 15 steals on the night.
Besides Williams, University of North Carolina transfer Paulina Paris had the second most points on the night with 13, only 2 less than Williams. Paris had a slower start to the game but found her confidence in the fourth quarter and shot 50% from the field throughout the game.
After the game, Barnes said she was also happy the team did a walk-through earlier in the week to help work on small things like bench etiquette and where to check into the game from the bench. Barnes said with so many new players and multiple players from overseas it was a needed conversation.
“Half of our team is new, and like [Katarina Kneževic] didn’t know where to check in because [playing in] Europe is different. So, it’s good to have a real game because I didn’t think about all the little things, but there is still a lot we need to work on,” Barnes said.
Looking Ahead
Arizona plays its last exhibition game before the regular season on Tuesday, Oct. 29 in McKale Center against California State University, Los Angeles at 6 p.m.
The Wildcats’ first game of the regular season will be on Nov. 4 against University of Texas Arlington in McKale Center at 4 p.m.
“It’s exciting to play new competition, new teams, we get to travel and go to new places and our fans get to see new teams and different styles of play. We’re bringing the Pac-12 to the Big 12 so we are bringing a lot of knowledge and aggression and passion,” Williams said.
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