RECAP: Arizona goes ice cold in 45-43 loss to Colorado in Pac-12 tourney

Cate Reese's absence was too much for the Wildcats as they fell to Colorado 45-43 in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas, even with a strong performance from forward Lauren Ware.

After a double-double performance in the final regular-season game against USC, Ware followed that up by scoring a career-high 15 points and nearly posted another double-double by adding eight rebounds to her stat line.

The Wildcats (20-7) struggled to shoot the ball as they went 12 for 48 from the field and shot 8% from the 3-point line on 24 attempts.

"The thing is, I told the team, you guys can't all be cold at the same time," said coach Adia Barnes. "At least if one person is cold, someone else hit some shots."

Arizona only managed to shoot a combined 23% from the field from the first to the third quarter of the game. This included nearly a 6-minute stretch where the Wildcats failed to score a third-quarter basket which led to them scoring four points in the quarter; their lowest-scoring quarter of the season.

Colorado (19-10) capitalized on Arizona's struggles despite their high number of turnovers by outrebounding the Wildcats 38-31 and forcing them to turn the ball over 15 times.

This was another example of where the Wildcats missed Reese on the floor. She had been averaging a team-high 6.2 rebounds a game for the season.

"I think we were getting to a point where we had a lot of momentum and we worked really hard throughout the season to put ourselves in a great situation," Barnes said. "And then things happen. It's basketball. And then one of your best players gets hurt."

UA guard Taylor Chavez voiced her frustration regarding the team's shooting performance as the Wildcats shot its worst 3-point percentage dating back to the 2020-21 season when Arizona shot 9% from deep against California on 11 attempts.

"Honestly, I feel like it was just one of those days for us. We all, the majority of us, especially Sam (Thomas) and I, played here last year, and I don't think we shot that poorly in the past, but some days go like that, Chavez said.

"I don't think there will ever be a time at least throughout Madi's (Connor) career with her being here for the next three years where the top 3-point specialists go 2-24 ...that won't happen again."

Ware's 15-point performance was not only a career-high, but she led the team in scoring against Colorado. The second leading for Arizona was Shaina Pellington with nine points.

"That's just something I think I should be doing all the time. Now with Cate out, obviously, we have a big deficit in those two areas like scoring and rebounding, Ware said.

"So the coaches have put that on me to be more aggressive and take more good shots and be more aggressive on the offensive end and the defensive end, with rebounding on both ends, and I think I've done a better job of that."

The Wildcats are now out of the Pac-12 tournament and now await their seeding for the NCAA tournament with the potential of hosting a couple of games in McKale.

Staff writer Troy Hutchison contributed to this article

> DISCUSS the article with other Arizona fans Inside McKale

> WATCH the latest videos from GOAZCATS.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel

> FOLLOW us on Twitter (@goazcatscom, @MattRMoreno, @THutch1995, @AverieKlonowski)

> FOLLOW us on Instagram (@goazcats)

> LIKE us on Facebook

> SUBSCRIBE for all the latest Arizona Wildcats team and recruiting news (subscribe now)