The University of Arizona women’s basketball team (18-12, 9-8 in Big 12) defeated Texas Tech University (14-16, 3-14 in Big 12) on Senior Night 66-57 on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. in McKale Center. The Wildcats extend their win streak to three consecutive games with this win, keeping their NCAA tournament hopes alive.
Isis Beh led Arizona with a game-high 15 points in 37 minutes on the floor, hitting 5-of-6 of her shots. She also contributed four rebounds and two assists. Jada Williams followed closely with 14 points and two steals, shooting 40% on the night. Notably, Williams went a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
“We’re finding different ways to win and that’s what it’s all about […]. You want to be hot at the right time and I think we’re doing that,” head coach Adia Barnes said post-game.
Both programs came out firing in the opening quarter, trading baskets. Arizona was able to find a quick lead after Montaya Dew converted a layup after receiving an impressive full court pass by Williams to take a 13-12 lead.
Moving into the second quarter, Paulina Paris scored a layup to find a 20-18 lead midway through the quarter. On the following possession Breya Cunningham picked up her third personal foul after allowing an and-1 to Texas Tech’s Logan Johnson. This evened out the game at 20 going into a media timeout.
Out of the timeout both teams struggled shooting, finding themselves in a two-minute scoring drought as the Raiders turned the ball over four times during that span. Arizona forced 14 first half turnovers against Texas Tech.
Notably, both teams had identical first and second quarters offensively, but Arizona managed to go into halftime leading 25-24. Despite no Wildcats scoring double-digits through the first half, Williams led with 5 points and a steal.
The Wildcats came out aggressive in the third quarter going into a zone defense, trying to find a way to limit Texas Tech’s offense. Arizona forced six additional turnovers in the third quarter, leading to multiple opportunities offensively which included a 5-0 scoring run sparked by Dew, extending the lead 32-26.
Arizona kept its foot on the gas after the timeout, hitting 5-of-7 of its shots to stretch the Wildcats’ lead 43-35 to end the third quarter. Beh led the Wildcats with 6 points in the period.
Opening the fourth and final quarter, Dew took a hard fall to the floor hard and didn’t get up for an extended amount of time. She was helped off the floor and was immediately taken to the locker room.
“She’s [Dew] okay health wise; she might just be out a day or two […]. The main thing is her ACL is good,” Barnes said.
The Wildcats used Dew’s absence as motivation, nailing three consecutive shots to grow the lead to 53-43. This forced Texas Tech to call a timeout with 5:41 left in regulation. Later on in the period, Williams buried a side-step 3-pointer to keep Arizona ahead 58-47.
The Raiders cut the deficit to as close as 60-54 but ultimately came up short as Arizona held on to win the final home game of the regular season.
Despite Arizona being outnumbered in almost every statistical category, The Wildcats shot an efficient 48.9% from the floor despite struggling from beyond the arc shooting 33% and 71.4% from the free-throw line.
After the game, seniors Beh and Ajae Yoakum had the honors of banging the drum one last time in McKale Center.
“You’re the best fans in the world, and you always have been […]. Without you, we don’t win games here. So I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Barnes said, addressing the crowd.
Looking ahead
The Wildcats look to stretch their winning streak as the team heads on the road to Tempe, closing out the regular season against rival ASU on Saturday, March 1 in Desert Financial Arena at 4 p.m.
Follow the Daily Wildcat on Instagram and Twitter/X
