The University of Arizona women’s basketball team lost 60-57 against West Texas A&M University on Thursday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m. in McKale Center. This was the Wildcats’ first exhibition game of the season, as well as their first game under new head coach Becky Burke.

Junior Sumayah Sugapong was player of the night for the Wildcats, as she ended the night with 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the floor. She also went 4-for-4 from the line, adding four rebounds and a block. Sugapong allowed just one turnover in almost 32 minutes of play.

Fellow guard and graduate student Noelani Cornfield was the other Wildcat in double figures. Cornfield ended the night with a team-high of 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting. She also went 4-for-4 from the line. Cornfield added 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals for Arizona.

For the Buffaloes, senior Randi Harding led the way offensively. She went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line for a game high 15 points to go along with one assist and a block. Kyla Kane had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, followed by Karley Motschenbacher and Taylor Haggan with 9 points each.

The Wildcats trailed by 9 points after the first quarter, while shooting just 25% from the field. Arizona began to cut into the lead with improvements on the defensive side of the ball, dropping the Buffaloes’ shooting percentage from 44.4 in the first quarter to 35.3 in the second quarter.

However, this didn’t stop the Buffaloes from extending their lead to 12, including shooting
30% from the arc in the quarter. The Buffs won the quarter 13-10 and even though Arizona improved its shooting to 41.7%, they were still down 33-21 at halftime.

The second half went the same as the first. Arizona struggled coming out, starting with just 28.6% of their shots made.

In the third quarter of the game, the Wildcats were down 18 points while allowing over a 40%
shooting from the field from West Texas. Add on the foul trouble with Sugapong and Achol Magot fouled out, plus freshman Daniah Trammell picked up four fouls throughout the game and it looked like the Wildcats were out of this game.

Texas went 6-14 in the quarter, taking an 18-point lead with 4:59 left in the third quarter.

Although the Wildcats managed to narrow the gap to just 3 points in the fourth quarter,
they ultimately fell short of tying the game as the final buzzer sounded. Despite the loss, the Wildcats showed impressive resilience and determination, setting a promising tone for the season under Burke’s leadership.

Looking ahead

The Wildcats will play their second and last exhibition game on Thursday, Oct. 30, as they remain in McKale Center to take on California State University, Los Angeles at 6 p.m.