As the University of Arizona makes its way through the spring semester, Arizona sports have been in full swing since the term began, as the women’s basketball team has erased what was a disappointing three-game losing streak and has turned around greatly to find themselves with two straight double-digit victories.
Alongside women’s basketball, the gymnastics team has also been stellar as the Wildcats secured a victory in their home-opening match against Air Force Academy in McKale Center. Freshman Aubrey Krohnfeldt aided the Wildcats to their 196.100 victory with a career and season-defining performance.
Team of the week: Women’s basketball
The Arizona women’s basketball team has won two straight games by 10 plus points after losing out on three-straight conference matchups. The Wildcats previously lost to Baylor University, Iowa State University and No. 11 Kansas State University.
What seemed like a low point for the Wildcats proved to be a tone reset for them as they put together some of their best performances of the season. Arizona knocked the socks off both the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan. on Jan. 19 and the University of Cincinnati in McKale Center on Jan. 22 with massive 74-59 and 72-62 wins, respectively.
Arizona’s matchup against the Jayhawks proved to be a spark for the Wildcats as they never trailed Kansas in the matchup. Only one tie occurred after Kansas scored a layup to make it 2-2. Arizona responded with a Breya Cunningham layup, and wouldn’t look back. Ultimately, the Wildcats won by 15 points and led by as most as 17 moments before the game ended.
In this game, the Wildcats had some of their best performances from a plethora of players. Arizona had five players score 10 or more points, led by a massive 17-point Lauryn Swann outing.
Isis Beh was crucial for the Wildcats under the net, grabbing a team-leading 10 rebounds against Kansas. Beh also clutched her first double-double of the season, with 10 points alongside her rebounds.
The final defining performance came from Montaya Dew, a sophomore forward, who recorded her career-high and first double-digit scoring game with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field.
Arizona returned to Tucson, clinching another crucial Big 12 victory against Cincinnati. Despite only winning by 10, Arizona never trailed the Bearcats with only a few scares. The closest the score got was 2 points in which the Wildcats were up 55-53 with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter.
This game still proved the Wildcats are more than ready for a midseason charge to success. They would have four scorers in double-digits, with Skylar Jones coming off the bench and scoring a team-leading 16 points.
In this outing, Breya Cunningham was a crucial Wildcat under the net, grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds. Cunningham almost grabbed a double-double falling just short with 9 points.
The Wildcats travel to Salt Lake City, Utah for their next matchup against The University of Utah on Jan. 31 at 6:30 p.m. The Wildcats will certainly be looking to keep their hot streak up against the Utes as they seek their fourth consecutive victory.
Player of the week: Aubrey Krohnfeldt, Gymnastics
Krohnfeldt is a freshman for the Arizona gymnastics team, who recently put together a stellar performance that rivaled some of the most seasoned GymCats.
Krohnfeldt has seen a massive improvement since her first outing at the American Gold Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Classic, where she scored 9.850 on the Uneven Bars and a 9.750 on Floor. She ranked second in both her respective categories, certainly proving to be a crucial gymnast for the Wildcats this season.
Krohnfeldt had a slight falter in the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad, putting up a 9.750 on the Uneven Bars and a 9.35 on floor exercises.
However, in the Wildcats’ opening match of the regular season against Air Force Academy, she stunned the crowd with what was by far her best outing. Krohnfeldt would have a 9.725 on the Uneven Bars. Then on floor exercises, Krohnfeldt would post a career-high and team-leading 9.925. Her stellar finish as a freshman proved to be crucial to Arizona’s overall victory.
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