The University of Arizona women’s basketball team (10-9, 1-7 in Big 12) lost to Iowa State University (16-5, 4-5 in Big 12) 90-65 in the Hilton Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 24. 

Arizona key players

The Wildcats’ offense was led by graduate student guard Noelani Cornfield, as she fouled in the last 3 minutes of the game. She collected 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting along with two assists and one rebound. Cornfield scored effectively in the paint and was able to convert her shots to points despite Iowa State’s defense. 

Next up for the Wildcats was junior guard Sumayah Sugapong who finished the night with 13 points on 5-for-16 shooting, as well as one assist and five rebounds. She did a great job stretching the floor and was the only Wildcat with multiple 3-pointers.

Iowa key players

The Iowa State Cyclones were led by transfer junior guard Jada Williams with 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting to go with four rebounds and seven assists. She ended the first quarter with 8 points and got the scoring going for her team. Williams had transferred to Iowa State from Arizona this past spring.

Following Williams for the Cyclones was junior center Audi Crooks. Crooks ended the night with 17 points, shooting 7-for-9. She also recorded five rebounds and two assists. Crooks made life for Arizona a nightmare down low as she used her physicality to impose on the Wildcats.

First half

At the end of the first quarter, the Wildcats were down 11 points with the score 26-15. The Cyclones dominated in the last 6 minutes going on a 17-8 run to end the quarter. They made the Wildcats pay with how fast they set up their offense.

The second quarter went a lot like the first, as the Cyclones headed into the half up 24 points with the lead of 53-29. The Wildcats struggled with stopping Williams and Crooks as they each went perfect in the quarter.

Second half 

The third quarter saw the Wildcats outscore the Cyclones 23-22; the problem was that the Cyclones had outscored them by 24 in the first two quarters. The third quarter ended with the score of 75-52. Throughout the last quarter the Wildcats only scored 13 points and shot 5-for-19. They also had five Wildcats that fouled out in the game. 

Despite strong performances from Cornfield and Sugapong, the Wildcats couldn’t recover from a slow start and Iowa State’s physical dominance. Early Cyclone runs and interior control created too large a deficit and Arizona was unable to find consistent offense down the stretch.

Looking forward

The Wildcats will conclude this short road trip as they head to Tempe to take on rival ASU on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 6:30 p.m. The game will be available on ESPN+.

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