After Arizona trailed 17-3 at Colorado in the first quarter of its first road game of the season, the Wildcats were only outscored 58-53 the rest of the way in a 75-56 loss on Wednesday night in Boulder, Colo.
It was a similar development of the Big 12 opener last week against Utah at McKale Center, when the Wildcats fell behind 39-21 late in the first half and then outscored the Utes 41-24 the rest of the game in a 63-62 loss.
Arizona (9-4, 0-2 Big 12) will next play Saturday at No. 21 Texas Tech, which is 15-0 overall and 2-0 in the Big 12. Former Red Raider center Achol Magot and associate head coach Ashley Odom will return to Lubbock, Texas, with Arizona.
Lani Cornfield did not start against Colorado, only the second time that has happened in Arizona’s 13 games, because of a “coach’s decision,” Arizona coach Becky Burke said.
That affected Arizona’s start at Colorado with the Wildcats committing seven turnovers while making only two shots from the field out of 12 attempts (17%). The Buffaloes outscored Arizona 13-0 in points off turnovers in the first quarter and only 15-11 in the last three quarters.
“I thought just not coming out ready to play, mentally locked-in, sharp,” Burke said. “It’s frustrating because you give them the information. You’re telling them to step to the ball … there’s going to be high ball pressure. But to go out there and actually play against it — I mean, we’re small. We are very small. We’re not athletic, we don’t have length, and when we see that, it bothers us.”
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
— Arizona became a three-player execution with Cornfield, Mickayla Perdue and Tanyuel Welch accounting for 47 of Arizona’s 56 points. The trio was 17 of 40 from the field while the eight other teammates who played were a combined 3 of 14.
— Sumayah Sugapong and Daniah Trammell started but did not score, combining to go 0 of 6 from the field. Trammell fouled out and had three turnovers. Sugapong finished with four fouls.
— Mireia Jurado also started and was a non-factor, playing only five minutes with two turnovers and no attempted shots or assists.
— Nora Francois had the second-most minutes off the bench with 22 (behind Cornfield’s 36) and she had only two points on 1 of 5 shooting and pulled down two rebounds.
— Blessing “Adde” Adebanjo fouled out after playing only 12 minutes and made the only shot she attempted.
— Simply put, Arizona needs more consistent contribution from Jurado, Sugapong, Trammell, Francois and Adebanjo.
“That’s a problem, you know?” Burke said about the lack of contribution other than Perdue, Welch and Cornfield. “We’re an easy guard right now, and we’re an easy scouting report. It’s never a good thing when there’s only two or three people that you have to focus on defensively.
“We just talked about that in the locker room. So a challenge to the players that we currently have, to knock down open shots and have confidence to take those shots. But we’re a very, very easy scout right now.”
— Kamryn Kitchen, a promising transfer from Virginia, needs to work her way into Burke’s top rotation. She played only two minutes against Colorado.
— Cornfield was a positive influence for Arizona, scoring 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting with three assists and a steal. She had four turnovers, which is an issue, but through more coaching from Burke and her staff, that kind of play should settle down. She has almost as many turnovers (43) as assists (45), which is not a desireable ratio for a point guard with extended minutes.
— Welch (team-high 38 minutes against Colorado) nearly had a double-double with rebounds as a guard, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds. She also had two assists and a steal. Her performance was a positive to build on.
— Perdue is already playing like an All-Big 12 performer with her 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field, 5 of 11 from 3-point range. She also had three rebounds and did not commit a turnover in 36 minutes. It is evolving that this is her team and she needs to be in command out there like a coach on the floor, encouraging teammates. The last thing the Wildcats need in their first year of a rebuild situation under Burke is to sulk or feel sorry for themselves. That will make things worse.
“I just told my locker room suck it up, because you’re gonna see it the rest of the way. We are never going to be the biggest team, the most athletic, the longest,” Burke said. “How are you going to handle pressure? Are you going to be poised? Are you going to do the extra stuff that’s going to allow you to handle length and athleticism?”
