Arizona was down by 18 points at Utah on Friday night with less than three minutes into the second half before the Wildcats finally got their trapping defense to fuel their offensive attack.
When It appeared the Wildcats were in for another rout at the hands of Utah after the Utes throttled Arizona on New Year’s Eve at McKale Center, the game suddenly flipped.
Things drastically turned to the point that Arizona took the lead but Utah had enough time to a ride a wave at the end to a 67-58 victory.
“There was some things we had to do,” Arizona coach Adia Barnes said during the postgame interview on 1400-AM after she was asked what she told her team after falling behind 42-24 with 7:18 left in the third quarter.
“I wanted to press them. We just needed to manufacture some points and find a way for some other people to score. We had a tough time. We needed some people step up. We know we were short-handed today. We had to be able to score the ball and defend, and just had a tough time with that.”
Arizona, which played eight players, was without Sahnya Jah and Katarina Kneževic (undisclosed for both). Jah returned last week against Cincinnati and West Virginia after missing three games because of a decision by Barnes not to play her.
Arizona (14-9, 5-5 Big 12) used a 26-4 run to erase the 42-24 deficit and take a 50-46 lead with 6:45 left.
Jada Williams scored 11 of her season-high 25 points during that stretch.
After the Wildcats missed 11 straight shots from the field between the second and third quarters, they went 11 of 20 to forge ahead with the 50-46 lead.
Williams scored 17 points in the second half and Skylar Jones added nine but the rest of the players combined for only eight points after intermission.
Breya Cunningham, who was hindered by two early fouls, had all of her four points in the second half. Paulina Paris was scoreless after halftime and finished with only three points.
Isis Beh had all 11 of her points in the first half and missed the only shot she took in the second half.
“It really hurts us when Breya gets into foul trouble because we rely on her so much,” Barnes said. “I think they just had a lot of bodies in her and were forcing her to have her back to the bucket. Just some tough calls.
“I think Isis started off the game really hot, then we just didn’t really get her the ball to her in the second half. But then Jada steps up. I think though, as a team, we are at our best when we have four or five people in double-digits. We were just not able to score today. We had a tough time against Utah. They’re a very good team.”
Arizona shot 34.5 percent from the field when it lost 69-48 to the Utes in Tucson on New Year’s Eve.
The Wildcats made 38.3 percent of their shots Friday night. They were 5 of 18 (27.8 percent) from 3-point range.
Utah (16-5, 5-3) responded with a hot streak of its own after struggling from the field and allowing Arizona to take the 50-46 lead.
The Utes were in a 1-of-11 stretch before making three straight shots, all by Maty Wilke, including a 3-pointer with 2:21 left, to take a 60-54 lead.
Williams’ off-balance 3-pointer rattled around the rim and fell in to cut the lead to 60-57 with 1:54 left.
After a Utah turnover, Williams tried another 3-pointer that again rolled around the rim but this time it bounced out.
Maye Toure was fouled but she missed both free throws, giving Arizona hope with 1:31 remaining.
Williams was fouled 13 seconds later and made one of two free-throw attempts to cut the lead to 60-58.
Jenna Johnson made a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left, prompting Arizona to call a timeout.
After Paulina Paris missed a shot on a drive to the basket, Isis Beh fouled out while defending the perimeter with 29 seconds left.
Gianna Kneepkens, who led all scorers with 28 points, made both free throws to increase Utah’s lead to 65-58.
In Arizona’s last gasp, another Williams 3-point attempt rattled in and out with 17 seconds left.
Williams was 9 of 20 from the field, 2 of 8 from beyond the arc. She also had seven rebounds and five steals, her most in a Big 12 game this season.
“I think that for us, we have to have other people step up,” Barnes reiterated. “We don’t have a lot of depth, and so when we need it, when people are in foul trouble, it really hurts us because we don’t have other answers.
“Our Diamond (full-court press alignment) really affected them. But it was tough.”
Arizona will return to Tucson before traveling again to play at Colorado on Wednesday in the first matchup of the programs after both left the Pac-12 for the Big 12.
The Buffaloes (14-6, 5-4) host Texas Tech (14-9, 3-7) on Sunday before playing Arizona.
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