Arizona went on a 9-0 run off a pair of consecutive 3-pointers by Sahnya Jah and Paulina Paris and a 3-point-play by Paris to take a 34-point lead with just over six minutes left in a 76-39 win over Cal State Bakersfield Tuesday at McKale Center.
While the win against winless CSUB was expected, it gets Arizona a “get right” win as it heads into its last non-conference game next week against Weber State before it begins Big 12 play. The Wildcats had dropped four of their last six games coming into the game, most recently losing 69-66 to Grand Canyon last week at McKale.
“I’m happy we got back in the ‘W’ column. I was disappointed after the GCU game, just in how we kind of led, and, at the end, let it slip away,” Arizona head coach Adia Barnes said.
Barnes was particularly pleased with how Arizona moved the ball against CSUB’s defense.
“We really took pride in working on some different situations and understanding where to get shots from, and how to get shots against man or zone. I thought we did a better job executing and sharing the ball, she said. “I hope it looked like that today. We moved the ball better. We didn’t hold it so long. We still did it sometimes, but, baby steps.”
Arizona had 18 assists — one below its season-high of 19 against Seattle on Dec. 2 — and a season-low 10 turnovers giving it its first positive assist-to-turnover ratio in a game this season.
While Barnes acknowledged the team improved in the assist-to-turnover area, she said players still need to work on their passing fundamentals.
“Of those 10, there was five we shouldn’t have had. Think about it. Jumping in the air, not jump-stopping. But then you saw people doing the things that we need to do more,” she said.
Breya Cunningham said the key to the improvement in the assist to turnover ratio was focusing on those fundamentals in practice.
“A lot of our turnovers come from the guards trying to get the ball inside, or passing too fast off of one foot, not having balance, things like that. So, we were really conscious of how we were passing,” she said. “We were slowed down. That was one of our goals before the game, was to have a positive assist to turnover ratio. So, that’s something that we were really focused on today.”
The Wildcats’ nine fouls were also a season-low.
Barnes chalks up the foul total to discipline and the level of competition.
“I think some of it was not being really aggressive. I want us being a little bit passive, like not as much pressure on the ball, which I recognize that, and then just the talent offensively,” she said. “I think it’s a lot harder to contain when you guard really freak athletes. So I think there’s a combination of both of those things.”
Skylar Jones and Cunningham led Arizona in scoring with 13 points. Jones added three assists and Cunningham added five rebounds and two assists. Paris had 11 points and two assists.
Breya Cunningham bangs the drum. She led Arizona in scoring with 13 points, adding 5 rebounds and 2 assists. @AllSportsTucson pic.twitter.com/rfs4kkGtxp
— Kevin Murphy (@KevinMurfee) December 11, 2024
Katarina Kneževic’s nine points were a career and season-high. She added three assists.
“I think that she’s (Kneževic) is getting better. Her three is improving, and that’s every day working on her shooting,” Barnes said.
Isis Beh had eight points and Sahnya Jah had seven. Beh had missed the last two games because she was in concussion protocol and Jah was unavailable for Arizona’s last game against GCU.
CSUB’s Marley Langi led all scorers with 16 points, shooting 4 of 6 from beyond the arc.
It took Arizona most of the first quarter to find a rhythm.
Jones hit a 3-pointer to give Arizona (8-4) a 13-7 lead over CSUB (0-9) with 2:12 to go in the opening frame. Cunningham had seven of Arizona’s 13 points at that point. A 3-pointer from Paris and a layup by Beh extended Arizona’s lead to 18-7, and a jumper from CSUB guard Caitie Gingras made it an 18-9 game heading into the second quarter.
Arizona went on an 8-0 run early in the second quarter that ended with a 3-pointer by Kneževic to extend its lead to 23-9. Two back-to-back layups by Beh put Arizona up 27-11 with 6:35 to go in the frame. A second 3 by Kneževic at the 4:28 mark gave the Wildcats their largest lead at that point at 34-13. Jones hit a 3-pointer with under a minute before the half to put Arizona up 44-23.
The Wildcats held a 44-25 lead at halftime.
Jada Williams and Kneževic hit a pair of back-to-back 3s late in the third quarter to extend Arizona’s lead to 28 points.
Arizona next plays Weber State (2-5) on Monday at 6 p.m. at McKale Center.
FOLLOW @KEVINMURFEE ON TWITTER!ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com writer Kevin Murphy was born and raised in Tucson, and has followed Arizona Wildcats athletics since childhood. Murphy is a journalist product manager with the Green Valley News & the Sahuarita Sun. He has a bachelor’s degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU.
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